Drowning tragedy shocks community
A Kingsway High School field trip to the Umgeni Valley Ranch ended in tragedy when one of the learners fell into the river and drowned on Friday, 5 May.
Grade eight learner Zanele Buthelezi, 13, was pronounced dead by a doctor on the scene, despite attempts by rescuers to resuscitate her. She was part of a group of 20 learners who went swimming in a rock pool along the Umgeni River on Friday afternoon, under the supervision of field officers.
Zanele did not have a costume on and stood at the side of the pool. A learner later noticed Zanele was missing and the field officers realised she must have fallen into the water.
Women escape hijacking horror
A fun night of action cricket in Prospecton turned into a nightmare hijacking for two women when they had to jump out of a speeding car to escape.
Candice Ritchie, 21, her boss Melanie Pedrick and husband Justin arrived at action cricket in Prospecton when they were approached by three men, two armed with guns. The hijackers told Candice and the Pedricks to lie down on the ground and hand over their car keys.
Two bomb scares for Toti in one night
Two bomb scares in the Toti area on Wednesday, 3 May, resulted in a busy evening for the bomb squad.
A person phoned through to Radio Control in Durban, on the emergency number 10111, saying that there was a bomb at Homeplate in Warner Beach. The call came through shortly after 9pm. The bomb squad rushed to the scene and the building was searched using trained dogs.
Just before 10pm, a call came through to the Civic Centre and was answered by a member of Toti Traffic. The caller said: “There is a bomb in the building and it is going to go off at 10pm.” The bomb squad attended scene and no bombs were found.
Tree causes controversy
Controversy has erupted over the cutting down of a tree in Commercial Road on Wednesday, 3 May.
Some years ago, the decision was made to remove parking meters in the area to make way for a loading zone for local businesses.
Molly Toerien, the wife of local businessman, Jo Toerien, came up with the idea to plant trees, rather than filling the resulting holes awith concrete.
