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Boy drowns in river
A Verulam family is still reeling from shock after their 13-year-old son drowned in a river last week.
The boy was playing in a boat with five other children in the river about 2km away from the Hazelmere Dam wall when the boat overturned. Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) spokesperson Prem Balram said the boy’s screams had alerted a farm worker, who ran to the river and saw that the boy was drowning. He ran back home and phoned the Reaction Unit. When members of the Reaction Unit arrived, the body was nowhere to be found. It took almost an hour to locate the body. “When we got to the scene, which was only accessible by 4x4, we located the boat approximately 100m away from where the boy fell off. The SAPS Search and Rescue were called while Reaction Officers searched the river,” explained Balram.
He said the body was located almost exactly where he had fallen off two hours before. “There was no adult supervision and the boy’s mother had no knowledge that her son was playing in the river,” he added.
It was unclear what had caused the boat to overturn. Social Work Manager at Verulam Child and Family Welfare Society, Saras Moonsamy, urged all parents and caregivers to act responsibly, especially during the holidays. “There are a lot of activities that attract children during the holidays and parents should be more careful. If a parent knows that a child cannot swim, they must prevent them from playing next to rivers,” she said. She also conveyed her condolences to the family for losing their child, saying that losing a child was a traumatic experience. “Should the family need anything, we are here and willing to offer assistance,” she added.
Verulam police spokesperson, Inspector Charles Khumalo, confirmed the incident. He said police where called to attend the scene where a boy was reported to have drowned. “We heard that the boy was fishing in the river with other children at the time of the incident,” he said.
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