Girl drowns in Verulam river

A nine-year-old girl drowned when she got into difficulty while swimming in a Verulam river.

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Durban - A 9-year-old girl drowned in a river in Oakford near Verulam on Thursday.

Reaction Unit South Africa paramedics spokesman, Prem Balram, said they had received a report that a child was floating in a river near Oakford Priory.

Reaction officers and paramedics were directed down a dusty road towards a wider part of a river leading to Hazelmere Dam.

“Paramedics found a 9-year-old girl lying on the river bank, alive. A worker at a nearby trucking company managed to pull out the child about 30 minutes after she got into difficulty,” Balram said.

Efforts to resuscitate her failed.

It is believed the girl got into difficulty while swimming and her friends ran to a nearby home to summon help.

Balram said the river was believed to be 3m deep at the point where the child was recovered.

Police spokesman, Major Thulani Zwane, said an inquest docket had been opened at Verulam police station.

Daily News

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