2 drownings claim 4 lives

What was meant to be an afternoon of fun with family and friends on Saturday turned tragic with multiple drownings.

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Durban - What was meant to be an afternoon of fun with family and friends on Saturday turned tragic when a young father drowned while canoeing on Shongweni Dam.

And, in a separate incident, three children drowned when they went swimming in a canal in Rookdale near Bergville also on Saturday.

In the Shongweni Dam incident, Thabane Ngcobo, 28, and a group of about 10 others went to the dam at midday, Ngcobo’s uncle, Justice Magabane, said on Sunday.

The group included Ngcobo’s brother and sister. His 3-year-old daughter, however, was at home with her mother.

“We just wanted to enjoy ourselves,” Magabane said.

They spent the afternoon eating, laughing and taking pictures at the water’s edge, but things took a turn for the worse when Ngcobo decided to take a canoe he found at the dam into the water.

“We didn’t even realise he was not with us until he was a distance from the shore,” Magabane said, “When we saw him on the water, we called out to him to come back. We did not think he knew how to use the canoe, he did not have any oars and he was using his hands to paddle.”

Ngcobo tried to turn around but as he did so, the canoe capsized. He tried to swim ashore.

“But then he grew tired and disappeared under the water,” his uncle said.

“One man even jumped in and tried to help him,” Magabane said, “but by the time he reached the area Thabane was nowhere to be found.”

Police, paramedics and search and rescue teams were called to the scene and later that afternoon, recovered Ngcobo’s body.

ER24 spokesman, Russel Meiring, said by the time Ngcobo was found, there was nothing they could do for him, but declare him dead.

Meanwhile in Rookdale, superintendent of disaster management and emergency services for the Okhahlamba local municipality, Freddy Halgreen, said he and his team had been made aware of the emergency, involving the drowned children, at 3.30pm on Saturday.

“We had initially heard that four children had drowned in a canal in Rookdale but when we arrived, we realised there were three of them,” he said.

They found the children over a 15-hour period.

Halgreen said the children had decided to go for a swim.

“We were told they all held hands and jumped into the canal. What they didn’t realise was that the canal is more than 1.7m deep. This was too deep for them.”

What made the situation worse was that the sides of the canal sloped at an angle of 45°, making it impossible for them to get out.

The first child was recovered less than two hours after the call at 5pm, while the other two were found just before midnight and at 7.30am on Sunday.

The children ranged in age between 12 and 15 years.

“While their parents were at the scene when we made the discoveries, I cannot reveal their names as the whole family has not been informed.”

Daily News

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