Sand mining pit claims another life
Department of Water and Sanitation was not aware of the drowning.
An Umvoti River sand mining pit claimed another life on Friday January 2.
A small group of friends went for a swim in the cool water of a sand mining pit in the Umvoti river near Melville. The 21 year old Santos Da Silva lost his life when he drowned in the pit.
“We do not know if it was a licenced site because we did not check for permits at the time,” said KwaDukuza SAPS spokesperson Johannes Khoza.
KZN Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) chief director Ashley Starkey was quoted in a previous article as saying that children have drowned in those sand mining pits before because the water in deep excavation holes is often hazy and the holes are not clearly visible.
The DWS was not aware of the drowning and the department’s Angela Masefield said they would need do their own investigation before they could comment.
The DWS conducted an enforcement blitz to flush out illegal sand miners from the Umvoti river from the November 27 to December 24 during which six arrests were made and criminal cases opened against six transgressors.
“Follow-up inspections have taken place throughout December and we will monitor further in January,” said Masefield.
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