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Sergeant Eglon Nkala urged parents to monitor their children, as there was a notable increase in drowning incidents in the province.
“I can confirm we received reports where three boys drowned in dams on separate occasions. Two of them drowned on the same day while the third drowned on Wednesday. The boys were aged six, eight and nine,” said Sgt Nkala.
He said the first incident occurred at Matshiya Dam in Lupane where an eight-year-old boy was playing and noticed dead ducks floating in the water on 5 January.
“The boy was in the company of his five-year-old brother when he saw dead ducks floating in the water. In an attempt to take out the ducks, the boy jumped into the water and drowned. His brother ran home and notified elders and the body was later found floating,” said Sgt Nkala.
He said the second incident occurred the same day in Tsholotsho at Makandiwa Dam where a nine-year-old boy was swimming as he was herding cattle.
“We also received a report where a boy from Tsholotsho drowned while swimming in Makandiwa Dam. This boy swam for a while and then decided to move to the deeper part of the dam where he drowned,” said Sgt Nkala.
Sgt Nkala said the third incident occurred on Wednesday in Inyathi at Huntsman Dam where two boys were trying to cross the dam on their way from school.
“We received a report of a boy who drowned trying to cross a dam. The boy was in the company of his friend and they were on their way from school. The boy slipped into the water and drowned but his friend managed to cross.
“A report was made to police and they managed to retrieve the body,” said Sgt Nkala.
Sgt Nkala said he was worried that parents were neglecting their children and were failing to warn them of the dangers that came with swimming.
“I am appealing to parents to seriously consider monitoring their children’s activities. They should follow their children and observe what they do when herding and warn them because we cannot continue losing lives in this manner,” said Sgt Nkala.
He urged parents to be concerned with the security and the safety of their children all the time so such incidents could be avoided.