Boy, 10, drowns in river

A 10-year-old boy drowned in the Macwingana River in Kwamakhutha near Amanzimtoti in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday afternoon, paramedics said.

“Reports indicate that the boy and friends went swimming in the river when all of a sudden he disappeared under the water,” Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha said.

Paramedics and a police search and rescue team arrived at the scene around 4.30pm.

Police divers recovered the body within seven minutes at a depth of three metres.

“Tragically the child was declared dead on scene and the body was handed over to the Kwamakhutha police for further investigation,” Botha said.

- Sapa/Netcare911