A MAN’S desperate attempt to find food in the bush ended in tragedy when he died trying to evade an aggravated swarm of bees.
Poverty stricken Siphelele Nyawo (28) of eZikhaleni Village, in search of food near Mposa River on Saturday morning, came across a beehive when he and two of his friends attempted to dig out honey to nutritionally sustain them.
The men, who had no luck in extracting honey, proceeded back to their homes in search of matches to burn the hive in hopes of chasing the bees out.
Instead, the aggravated bees attacked the three men who fled in different directions to seek protection.
One man fled into the nearby bushes but Nyawo and the other friend ran into the Mposa River with intentions of swimming across to find safety on the opposite bank. However, Nyawo did not make it to safety as he tragically lost his life when he drowned.
‘His friends went back to their home village where they alerted their elders on what had taken place but when they got to the river they could not find his body. The police were alerted and members of the police diving unit were sent out to attend to the matter and subsequently recovered Nyawo’s body,’ said Empangeni SAPS Spokesperson Captain Mbongeni Mdlalose.
‘An inquest case is being investigated by our officials,’ he added.
