Bloemveld claims a life

ON THE afternoon of Sunday, December 15, at approximately 4:00pm, a tragic event claimed the life of a 14 year old boy at Bloemveld Dam. The teenager was a resident of the village which is on the banks of Bloemveld Dam, near the dam wall, and had been playing in the water with his six year old brother before the incident occurred. According to eyewitnesses, the tower at the dam, which for some reason appears to be easily accessible to the public, is a popular spot to jump from into the dam, and this is what led to the tragic turn of events. Josua van Niekerk, a 17 year old Vryheid resident, had been enjoying the afternoon at the dam with his family, when he witnessed the boy jumping from the tower into the deep waters of the dam below. Only when the boy came up for air and began to flounder, did onlookers realise that he was possibly unable to swim. Josua, who was already in the water, swam to the boy in an attempt to help him, but could only assist to a certain extent, as the boy began to panic and pulled him under the water as well. Josua managed to free himself and called for help, but by the time help arrived, the boy had already disappeared under the water. “I turned around and saw just his hand sticking out of the water. When I reached out to him, he touched my hand, but couldn’t hold on. As his hand disappeared under the water, he pulled my bangles off my arm and he just sank under the water. It was too late.” said Josua, as he described the traumatic final moments of what had transpired. Josua’s mother phoned Renier Botha from R&R Private Ambulance Services, who arrived on the scene within 15 minutes and took charge of the situation. Link Up arrived on the scene and recruited divers to begin the search for the body, as police divers were unavailable at the time. According to eyewitnesses, Chris van Eck , was instrumental in making all the necessary arrangements to assist with the search, which took several hours. The body of the deceased was recovered at approximately 7:00pm, according to Marius at Link Up. “I just feel so sad for that boy’s family, and his little brother. He’s only six years old and he saw the whole thing happen.” said Josua’s mother, “They really need to sort out the security for that place. It’s far too easy for people, especially children, to gain access to the tower.”