A 15-year-old boy has died at a Sharpeville public swimming pool in Vuka after a freak drowning accident yesterday, reports Sedibeng Ster.

Tsoarelo Likana left home to attend soccer games at a local sports centre just next door to the swimming pool facility. He met his untimely death around 15:30 when he and a couple of friends decided to go for a swim following a day under the scorching sun.

Tragedy struck when the Grade 10 pupil from Moshate Secondary School slipped and hit the swimming pool banks with his chin.

According to eyewitness, the deceased fell back into the pool.

Speaking to Sedibeng Ster, one of the friends who witnessed the incident said they helped pull Likana from the bottom of the pool.

“The deceased struggled to swim after he hit his chin. I dived in the water and dragged him out. His friends helped before trying to give him CPR,” he said.

Another friend, name withheld due to age, explained how the day ended in tragedy.

“We realised Tsoarelo wasn’t among us. When we asked around, we were told he was seen struggling to come out of the water. That’s when we tried to find him under water,” he said.

Ster also spoke to Nkoboi Likana, mother to the deceased.

She said she received a call from one of the people her son went to the games with.

“He told me my son had drowned. We called medics who told us they were trying to save him. We later got a call that my son had passed on,” she said.

“When I got to the swimming pool, there were police and medics, plus a lifeguard,” she said.

Describing her son, Nkoboi said he was a sweet child, full of jokes.

“I had hoped for nothing but good from him. He was an ambitious child with big dreams. My heart is broken. My spirit is in a dark place,” she added.

Police had not responded at the time of publication.

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