Safeguard your kids: Police appeal to parents after 39 people drown across Limpopo
|Published
Pretoria – At least 39 people across Limpopo have drowned in the current rainy season, and the SAPS in the province, led by acting provincial commissioner Major General Jan Scheepers, has appealed to parents, guardians and community members to safeguard and protect children.
Some people drowned when their vehicles were swept away as they tried to cross flooded low bridges, while others, especially children, drowned while swimming, said Scheepers.
He said 15 children were among those who drowned.
The latest incident took place on Sunday, at Praktiseer, outside Burgersfort.
“A 12-year-old boy, Thabang Mogofe, drowned in a huge hole that was reportedly dug up by a road construction company. The incident was only reported on Monday March 7,” said Scheepers.
Police divers retrieved the child’s body from five metres below the surface.
In another drowning incident in Limpopo, a 10-year-old boy lost his life while swimming with friends at Ntsima village, Mankweng, on Saturday.
“The incident reportedly took place at about 12pm but was only reported to the police at 8.40pm,” said Scheepers. Members of the SAPS search and rescue unit divers retrieved the boy’s body.
“As a community, we can turn the situation around and stop these drownings by knowing where our children are playing, educate them to desist from swimming in hazardous waters and exercise extreme caution when walking or driving in flooded areas,” Scheepers said.
“I want to also take this moment to commend members of the search and rescue unit who spend sleepless nights and days conducting various search and rescue missions in rivers, dams, mountains, manholes, pit toilets, streams and the veld,” he said.
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