Tragedy struck at Hopley Phase 3 resettlement area in Harare on Friday afternoon when two children drowned in an unprotected well from which they were drawing water while playing.
The victims were identified as Dalisiso Ntuli (2) and Nokutenda Madzvanya (4), a boy and girl respectively. A resident who intended to fetch water discovered the bodies floating in the well and alerted the family.
Abese Nazombe, a family friend of the Ntulis, said: I am told a group of children were playing around the well when the two minors fell into the water.
Unfortunately, they did not inform elders who were close by presumably out of fear. Their bodies were discovered by a woman who had gone to draw water for her laundry, but it was too late to resuscitate them.
When NewsDay visited the scene yesterday, mourners at the Ntuli home were leaving for the cemetery and both the Ntuli and Madzvanya families close relatives were reluctant to discuss circumstances leading to the tragedy.
The late Nokutenda is expected to be buried today. The unprotected well is approximately two metres deep and was reportedly the only source of water for the Hopley Phase 3 community before the donor community recently sank boreholes in the area.
It is situated about 45-50 metres from community houses surrounded by tall grass and maize in nearby fields.
The well still remains a death trap, not only for children, but for adults as well if it remains uncovered.
