South Africa: The Mopani District Municipality’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Pule Shayi, has sent his heartfelt condolences to the families that lost their loved ones due to drowning since the start of the persistent rains last week.
Three of the drowning cases are reported in the Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality. A 59-year old man drowned in the Selati river. Two children aged three and seven drowned when they accidentally fell into a newly dug pit toilet which was water-logged – this at Tshubje village. In a similar incident in the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, a 9-year-old also drowned when he accidentally fell into a pit at Xihoko village.
In the Greater Letaba Municipality, a grade 11 learner drowned on Sunday while swimming in the Mmaba river at Mamokgadi village. A lifeless body of a female person was also found in a river at Sekhiming village, where drowning is also suspected.
The Executive Mayor, Cllr Pule Shayi, says he is deeply saddened by the loss of lives in this manner and has once again urged parents to monitor the whereabouts of children. “On behalf of Mopani District Council and the people of our district, we send our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Our thoughts are with them during this difficult time as they deal with the untimely death of their loved ones.
“And we again appeal to all our people to remain vigilant, especially those living in low-lying areas, because most of our dams are now overflowing, and that means that the waters are rising rapidly in the streams and rivers. Our parents should therefore keep watch over their children because we know that children with their instincts to get adventurous can easily get into trouble if left unmonitored,” he said.
Mopani District Municipality’s disaster management team working closely with all the stakeholders, remains on high alert. They also advised members of the public to report emergencies to the Mopani Centralised Communication Centre (CCC) at (015) 306-7000, 060 551 1911 or 060 551 1910.