Latest news with #Matjhabeng fire department
The Herald
6 days ago
- The Herald
Boy drowns in open construction hole
Parents are urged to educate their children about water safety and the risks of swimming in dirty water. 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. TimesLIVE
News24
6 days ago
- News24
Boy, 11, drowns after becoming stuck in muddy excavation pit
An 11-year-old Free State boy drowned at a construction site in Odendaalsrus while swimming with two friends on Saturday afternoon. 'Odendaalsrus police were summoned to a scene of a drowning at Kutlwanong. On arrival at the scene, members were informed that three boys aged between 10 and 11 were allegedly swimming inside an excavation filled with wastewater,' police spokesperson Sergeant Palesa Thabana said. They became stuck in mud inside the pit. 'Two of the boys, aged 10, managed to get out, while the 11-year-old victim got stuck in the mud and ultimately drowned,' Thabana said. 'The Welkom SAPS diving unit, under the command of Sergeant Arno Cronje, was called to the scene. Together with Matjhabeng fire department members, they retrieved the deceased body from the sewage dump on Saturday evening at about 20:20.' In an unrelated incident in November last year, Vista reported that a 14-year-old boy drowned in a quarry of water filled with sewage in Meloding, Virginia. The boy's friends told the police that a group of them had been swimming in the quarry when one of them drowned. Matjhabeng municipality employees were deployed to drain the sewage. The boy's body was found stuck in mud inside the quarry.
