A six-year-old boy drowned drowned near La Mercy Lagoon on Saturday.

Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha said reports indicate the boy and his friends were swimming when he got into difficulty.

A crowd of people gathered at the shoreline to point out to divers from the SAPS search and rescue and Ballito Specialised Rescue Unit where the child was last seen.

Unit commander Quentin Power said the boy was apparently swimming in an unprotected strip of beach between Seabelle Restaurant and the lagoon.

“We found him roughly half a kilometre north of the lagoon. Sadly he was declared dead at the scene.”