The Grade 1 pupil was on his way home from school when he was swept away.
Durban – A Maphumulo family is relieved the body of her seven-year-old son was recovered after he was swept away while crossing a low-lying bridge.
Seven-year-old Bandile Makhoba was on his way home from school when he was swept away into the Nonoti while crossing a bridge in KwaDukuza on Tuesday.
The Grade 1 pupil attended Hulsug Primary School.
A relative said Bandile’s father was very traumatised by his son’s death.
The relative also said the community was very helpful in searching for Bandile while he was missing. They remembered him as boy that was always smiling.
A two-day search for the little boy ended in success after IPSS Medical Rescue, KDM lifeguards and SAPS Search and Rescue and K9 Search and Rescue recovered his body.
IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson Paul Herbst said on Wednesday they recovered Bandile’s body before noon.
“A search of the Nonoti river was conducted and the boy’s body was recovered approximately 1km from the point where he went missing,” Herbst said.
Meanwhile, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) there will be a sustained high risk of further severe weather conditions over the eastern parts of the country for the next three days, with the possibility of strong damaging winds, hail and heavy downpours.
“KwaZulu-Natal is expected to be the province particularly affected by these extreme conditions. With the high amounts of rain that has already been experienced, the risk for flooding is very high in places,” SAWS said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DSW) said the heavy rains in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of the Eastern Cape seemed to end the dry season after days of extremely hot and dry conditions in parts of the country.
“Last week three provinces, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and North West dropped their water levels to below 50 percent. Until the recent rains, KwaZulu-Natal was on the verge of becoming the fourth province to have low water levels in its reservoirs,” said Sputnik Ratau, DSW spokesperson.
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