30 Nov 2020

Kasane Police in collaboration with the Botswana Defence Force (BDF), Chobe District Council’s Fire Department and the public have retrieved two bodies of the men who drowned in the Chobe River on November 28 when their boat capsised.

In an interview, Senior Superintendent Thari Senwelo said the first body was that of a 31-year-old man of Maun’s Boseja ward, who was retrieved on November 29. He said the body was trapped underwater together with the boat.

He said the second body of a 36-year-old of Mahalapye was found this morning on the river bank. Snr Supt Senwelo said the deceased bodies had been identified by the relatives and they were lying at Kasane Primary Hospital mortuary.

The deceased were some of the 12 occupants of a speedboat that capsised on November 28 returning from a cruise on its way to a jetty between Spar and Mowana Lodge around 6:30pm.

He said when the incident occurred there was another boat nearby and the operator of that boat managed to rescue the operator of the sinking boat, eight adults and a six-year-old boy.

Snr Supt Senwelo said the boat that capsised was also retrieved from the river this morning.

Investigations on what could have led to the accident are ongoing. ends