A 16-YEAR-OLD boy from Pumula South drowned while bathing in a pit along Ntemba Road in Bulawayo on Wednesday.
BY NIZBERT MOYO
The boy, identified as Tinashe Chipuramhura, was with his younger brother, who watched helplessly when the incident occurred.
Bulawayo chief fire officer, Richard Peterson confirmed the incident, saying the boy’s lifeless body had to be retrieved using an excavator.
He said they had to create a canal to drain water out of the pit to reach the mud level, where the boy was stuck.
“When the younger brother discovered that his older brother was nowhere to be seen, he rushed to inform his parents, who later on called the police,” Peterson said.
Bulawayo police spokesperson, Inspector Precious Simango confirmed the incident.
“We received a report yesterday (Wednesday) of a 16-year-old boy from Pumula South, who died while trying to bathe. He slipped into the water and drowned,” She said.
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Simango said the pits in the area are caused by sand poachers and advised people to avoid such places, particularly during the rainy season, as they are death traps.
She urged the local authority to protect the pits to prevent people from falling into them.
“We strongly warn these sand poachers that they must desist from sand poaching, as it is illegal, they are putting lives at risk,” Simango said.
Incidents of people drowning in pits left open by sand poachers increase during the rainy season.
