Durban – Two friends, believed to be 10 and 13, are presumed to have drowned after they got into difficulty while fishing in the Umdloti River near Mount Moreland, which falls under the eThekwini region, yesterday (Thursday).
Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) spokesperson Prem Balram, said members of Rusa were still at the scene at 2.44pm.
“It was established that a group of minors from Waterloo, KZN, walked to the river and were fishing,” he said.
He said the two friends decided to enter the water to cool off from the high temperatures which they were experiencing.
“While swimming they experienced difficulty and disappeared under water. Their friends witnessed the incident and attempted to rescue them but were unsuccessful,” said Balram.
He said Search and Rescue members from the South African Police Service, Metro Police and a private ambulance service entered the water in an attempt to retrieve the bodies.
“The search was called off due to poor lightening and will resume tomorrow[Friday] morning,” said Balram.
Last year, The Mercury’s sister publication, the Daily News, reported that two friends aged 12 and 15 drowned in Park Rynie on the KZN South Coast.
According to the report, police teams had embarked on a wide-scale operation after two young girls, who were friends, were swept out to sea by strong rapids.
“It is believed their families were holidaying in the area and the girls, aged 12 and 15, were playing in the surf when the current pulled them deeper,” said Mi7 National Group spokesperson Colin David in the report.
At the time of the report bystanders had recovered the body of the 15-year-old who had drowned, while the search continued for the12-year-old.