The family of a 14-year-old boy from Covid informal settlement who is presumed drowned at a dam in Driftsands is angry with how the search for his body has been conducted.
The boy disappeared on Saturday at Blou Dam, which is situated behind Driftsands and is a popular spot where children cool down in the hot weather.
According to his uncle, three boys went for a swim in the shallow dam and used a piece of foam to stay afloat.
The friends told the family that the boy could not manage to hold onto the foam and drowned.
On Tuesday morning a massive search continued as police and the community combed the area but found no sign of his body.
However, the search was then stopped, prompting anger from the traumatised family who asked not to be named as all their relatives have not yet been informed of the incident.
His uncle said they have a strong belief that his body is still in the dam.
“The police divers were here as you have seen but they came out with nothing. The search took an hour and 30 minutes and that was it. But I must say we are not happy. They should have searched for a long time. Now they told us that a body might surface after some days. So they said they will now depend on the community for information,” said the devastated uncle.
“The (friends) pointed out the spot where he drowned. We also found his clothes where he stripped so we have a strong belief that he is still there. We will go back to the dam on Friday to see if he has not surfaced. If not, we then go back on Monday. But we still say the divers could have done better. They have all the equipment to work with. To say they will depend on the community is just not enough for us. But we will be strong and remain hopeful that he will surface,” he said.
Residents who asked not to be named but were part of the search party said they have not experienced such a tragedy on the dam before.
Mfuleni Police spokesperson Warrant Officer November Filander confirmed that the boy was reported missing and rescue teams were on scene on Tuesday to search for him. He said he had no information about when the search would resume but as soon as he has it, he will contact Vukani.
