Byline: Levhuwani Matumba
20 March 2022
The community of Emzinoni and the family of the deceased were left shattered when the body of a 15-year-old boy was recovered in an open quarry on Sunday, 20 March 2022 at about 9 am.
Teams involved in rescuing the body were Mpumalanga K9 Search and Rescue, Mpumalanga Inland Waterwing, Delta 1 Rescue, and the ER24.
According to the family members who were on the scene, the deceased friends informed them about the incident at about 2 pm on Saturday, 19 March 2022.
The rescuing team said they were informed about the incident at about 6 pm and it was already late to start with the search.
Currently, there is only one diver’s team responsible for the whole Mpumalanga Province.
Some community members urged the municipality to intervene and make sure that open quarries are closed.
“As parents, we do our best to warn our children not to swim in open quarries, but it is not always possible to prevent them as we do not see them coming here,” said an aunt to the deceased.
Emzinoni Police Station Commander, Capt Viviers confirmed that they received a call about the 15-year-old boy who drowned in an open quarry on Saturday but could not specify what time they received the phone call or comment further but referred us to the Provincial Spokesperson for further details.
