Durban - Search and rescue officers are searching for a 10-year-old boy who went missing while swimming in the Tugela River in northern KwaZulu-Natal on Monday.
IPSS Medical Rescue said in a statement on its Facebook page that its Search and Rescue team had been called to the scene on Monday afternoon.
“Units responded to the scene, but due to the level of the river, were unable to enter due to safety concerns. The banks and weir were checked, but unfortunately there were no signs of the young boy.
“Teams will resume the search at first light (Tuesday) with additional resources,” the statement said.
The incident is at least the third drowning since the start of the new year.
On Sunday, a fisherman drowned at the Tinley Manor lagoon.
IPSS Medical Rescue said that according to witnesses, the man was casting his net when he disappeared below the water.
His body was recovered by IPSS Medical Search and Rescue teams along with SAPS K9 units.
Last week a 9-year-old boy drowned while swimming with his friends in a river in the Ndwedwe area.
In that incident, the boy’s body was recovered and handed over to Ndwedwe SAPS the next year.
“The Mercury” reported last November that KwaZulu-Natal had the highest incidence of drownings from 2016 to 2021 in the country, according to a study conducted by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).
KZN had 2 114 drownings from 2016 to 2021, followed by the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and the Western Cape.