POLOKWANE – Six weeks after a young man drowned in the municipal swimming pool in Burger Street, the facility is still closed to “facilitate an investigation” and enquiries by the media are referred from one municipal official to another.

Polokwane Observer spoke to a local matric learner who assisted in recovering the body of the deceased swimmer from the diving pool on January 7 at around 13:00.

His identity is being protected.

“I was at the pool and ready to use the diving pool when a gentleman, presumably the manager of the facility, approached me and asked if I knew anything about the whereabouts of a young man. I replied in the negative but agreed to dive into the pool and investigate. I detected a person at the bottom of the pool but could not manage to bring the body to the surface and reported as such to the official.

“He also dived down with no success, and only when we both went in, we succeeded in bringing the body to the surface, where the official performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) but to no avail,” the learner related.

He added that he left the scene after emergency services personnel arrived. “There were lifesavers on the premises during the incident, but their focus was apparently on the main swimming pool,” he said.

Enquiries regarding the incident and the re-opening of the facility that were directed to the municipality’s manager for sport and recreation, Mantlako Sebaka, and then referred to municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala.

No response has been received yet.