VIDEO: Divers retrieve bodies of suspected miners

Police spokesperson Captain Magonseni Nkosi said the men drowned after a group of four people went for a swim on Monday morning.

“Two of the men were swimming in the water and somehow started drowning. Another man tried to rescue them but also drowned,” he said.

The fourth man then reportedly ran to get help from nearby residents, who then called police to the scene.

Police arrived with divers, who later recovered the three bodies.

Nkosi added the blade of a shovel was also found inside the pond.

Residents alleged the men had been illegal miners, Ridge Times reported.

However, Nkosi could not confirm the allegation.

“Based on the information we have, we are treating the incident as a mere drowning, but we cannot rule out if they were illegal miners or not,” Nkosi said.

Police investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Watch the video here.

Last month, two Ravensmead men died after being swept out to sea on Hawston Beach, near Hermanus, the Western Cape.

A lifeguard on duty pulled one of the men out and unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate him, while the other man’s body was recovered by divers.

– Caxton News Service