Boy drowns in open construction hole
The call was made by Free State Sgt Palesa Thabana after police and emergency services personnel retrieved the body of an 11-year-old boy from a water-filled sewage treatment construction site at K5 Section in Kutlwanong, Odendaalsrus.
"The boy and two friends were swimming inside an excavation pit filled with wastewater when they got stuck in mud on Saturday afternoon. Two of the boys, aged 10, managed to get out while the 11-year-old victim stayed stuck in the mud and drowned."
The Welkom police diving unit under the command of Sgt Arno Cronje was called to the scene. Together with the Matjhabeng fire department, members retrieved the body from the sewage dump on Saturday at about 8.20pm.
The victim, who was declared dead at the scene by emergency services personnel, was identified by his next-of-kin.
An inquest has been opened.
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