Picture: kat wilcox/Pexels Picture: kat wilcox/Pexels
Rustenburg -The body of a 10-year-old boy was on Sunday retrieved from the Koekemoer Spruit in Khuma, near Klerksdorp, North West police said.
Provincial police spokesperson, brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said Simphiwe Tshabalala allegedly drowned on Saturday.
"It is alleged that Simphiwe Tshabalala was playing with friends at Malekutu Bridge in Khuma when they decided to swim in the Koekemoer Spruit. It was at that point that Simphiwe disappeared under the strong current," said Mokgwabone.
"Police divers were summoned and started searching for Simphiwe. The search, which was temporarily stopped in the evening, continued [on Sunday morning]. Consequently, Simphiwe’s body was recovered at about 10am, more than a kilometre away from where he allegedly drowned," he said.
An inquest docket was opened for investigation.
Mokgwabone said the provincial police commissioner, lieutenant-general Sello Kwena, had expressed his concern about incidents of drowning, particularly of young children.
This was after five other children aged between three and 17 drowned in Pudimoe, Bojating village, Amalia and Ganyesa, between December 30 and Saturday.
In the Ganyesa incident, two boys aged 16 and 17 drowned on Friday after they went swimming in a pond nearby Ganyesa Hospital.
On December 30, seven-year-old Onkarabile Selokela drowned in a toilet pit in Bojating, near Mogwase, outside Rustenburg.
Kwena advised parents to ensure that their children were safe at all times, particularly after the heavy rains experienced in the province.