Vusumuzi Dube
Valencia Ndhlovu, Sunday News Reporter
A nine-year-old boy drowned in an open pit behind the Bulawayo City Council sewer works while swimming with friends in Cowdray Park on Monday, police confirmed.
The police said the Grade Four pupil and his friends were swimming and when the friends realized that he was drowning, they panicked and fled from the scene.
Acting Bulawayo provincial spokesperson Assistant Inspector Nomalanga Msebele said: “As police we encourage people to report such disused pits at the local council offices as they are a danger in society. Also, parents and guardians are urged to always monitor children under their care to avoid such incidents especially during the rainy season.”
ZRP Sub Aqua and the Bulawayo Fire Brigade retrieved the body from the pit.
The now deceased’s clothes were found approximately three metres away from the edges of the 10 metre pit.
The body was taken to the United Bulawayo Hospitals for a post-mortem.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter