17 Feb 2021

Thamaga Police are investigating a case in which a 16-year-old teenage boy fell and drowned in a river stream while swimming with his peers on Saturday at Thamaga.

Thamaga Police Station Commander, Supt Moses Kwarare confirmed in an interview that the incident took place in the afternoon at Mareletsane River in the western side of Thamaga.   

He said the incident took place after a group of boys went swimming in the stream, which was full after the recent heavy rains.  

Supt Kwarare further stated that the police were alerted by the deceased’s parents after which a team of scuba divers went searching for the body and managed to find it on the same day.  

The boy was certified dead upon arrival at the Thamaga Primary Hospital.

According to Supt Kwarare, this is the first incident of its kind this year.  

He therefore cautioned parents to look after their children to avoid such unfortunate incidents.  

He also mentioned that the police had observed that most children went swimming in the ponds and river streams and sometimes they went fishing. 

Meanwhile, Supt Kwarare noted that police were concerned by a number of people who did not obey COVID-19 protocols such as wearing of masks and curfew times. 

He said so far 35 people had been fined for failure to observe curfew.

He said the police would continue to enforce the law as per the COVID-19 regulations. ends