It began as a normal day for the Goqo family from Osizweni, when they went for a picnic on December 30 at the Balele Resort in Utrecht. No one could have anticipated the horrifying way the day would end.

Pastor Mncedisi Cele from Izinsizwa zaseNewcastle NGO, speaking on behalf of the Goqo family, gave an account of the eventful afternoon:

“Most people know that you can’t swim at the dam but one of the family’s young boys, Theo Chaka (9) excitedly ran into the dam, and as a child, wasn’t really aware of the dangers. The three family members saw the child was struggling in the water and they followed each other, running into the dam to try and save the boy…”

The three family members, Piet (57), Sibusiso (45) and Philani (23) lost their lives as a result.

Cele believes that when the young boy ran into the water, he might have stepped on a water pump which exacerbated the excessively strong current in the dam:

“We suspect that when the three adults were trying to assist, the water was already moving excessively and they couldn’t swim. Another family member, Mxolisi Nkosi, also ran into the water but was secured by a rope they had fastened around his waist; unfortunately he also couldn’t save anyone and they pulled him back to shore. The young boy was eventually saved by someone else who was there that could swim.”

Cele said the Goqo family was distraught and deeply struggling to accept what has happened:

“I can’t even begin to describe the pain that family is going through right now. As it is, we received a call that the mother is not coping and must be taken to a doctor. The whole family, the sister and the grandmother are struggling to cope with the current reality. We are currently seeking counselling for them.”

Lucky Madida, another representative of Izinsizwa zaseNewcastle NGO and also speaking on behalf family, added that Philani was a breadwinner in the family:

“Philani was the one who actually had organised the outing because he wanted to bring his family together. He was excited he had finally found a job after being unemployed for a very long time. For some reason it then had to end this way. Philani was one of us [Izinsizwa zaseNewcastle NGO]. We mentor and groom the youth and teach them about life skills. We are aligned with our church, we pray over most challenges and teach the youth to never give when they encounter problems, and contribute to many other programmes in our different communities.”

Head of Communications at Emadlangeni Municipality, Ayanda Mabaso said the municipality was deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident:

“We again send our deepest condolences to the family. A heroic visitor to the park managed to rescue the child who had initially got into difficulty in the water, he was also able to rescue one of the deceased who at the time, was barely hanging on to life. At this point, the other two who had jumped into the water had seemingly drowned as they could not be seen anymore. Another visitor who is a first aider, attempted to perform CPR on the rescued gentleman but was unfortunately unable to resuscitate him. The park had at this point already alerted police, disaster management and emergency services for assistance. The gentleman who had been rescued out the water was declared dead when paramedics arrived. The SAPS rescue K9 unit from Newcastle was dispatched, and they retrieved the two bodies that were still in the dam.”

Mabaso added the municipality was looking into ways to make the resort a safer place:

“Mayor, Lindile Mhlungu and some local councillors visited the family to grieve with them and show support, and contributed [towards] funeral preparations. The Mayor has stressed that as a municipality, we have also taken it upon ourselves to make sure that Balele, our well-loved tourism area, has more safety measures in place. This will include having life guards, especially during the busy holiday season. Although the budget for that might not readily be there, but we will try our best to make sure our residents and visitors are safe.”

They three family members were laid to rest on January 5. The Newcastle Advertiser extends its condolences to the family.

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