Durban - Members of Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) are searching for a seven-year-old boy who drowned while swimming with a large group of people in Hazelmere, KwaZulu-Natal, on Thursday.
According to Rusa spokesperson Prem Balram, the boy is presumed to have drowned while swimming in a river that flows into Hazelmere Dam.
“His family informed members of Reaction Unit South Africa that they were unaware that the boy had gone swimming with 20 other individuals in an area of the river demarcated for sand mining,” he said.
Balram said the group consisted of children and adults.
“The child allegedly experienced difficulty while swimming in deep water,” he said.
The Rusa R44 helicopter was conducting an aerial search of the river late on Thursday afternoon.
In a separate incident on Monday, IPSS Medical Rescue reported that a 10-year-old boy went missing while swimming in the Tugela River in the Mandeni area.
“Units responded to the scene, but due to the level of the river were unable to enter due to safety concerns. The banks and weir were checked, but unfortunately there were no signs of the young boy. Teams will resume the search at first light (on Tuesday) with additional resources,” said IPSS spokesperson Dylan Meyrick.
Speaking to The Mercury on Thursday, IPSS said the body of the 10-year-old had still not been found.
“Unfortunately there has still been no sign of him, SAPS Search and Rescue as well IPSS have searched the river multiple times as well the beaches near the river mouth over the last 3 days,” said IPSS.
