Boating accident claims teen

2006-12-17 22:25

Sharika Regchand

Pietermaritzburg - A 16-year-old Pietermaritzburg teenager was killed in a boating accident at Midmar Dam outside Howick on Sunday afternoon.

The boy's body had not been recovered last night when the search was called off in worsening weather conditions, and police declined to release his name.

Eyewitness Lorna Love said she saw a youngster sitting on the side of a rubber duck and as the driver turned, he slipped and fell into the water.

She added that another boy was being towed and when this boy saw what happened he screamed and dived into the water.

Within seconds, the driver of the boat dived into the water to try and search for the boy. Seeing the commotion on the boat, other boaters went to assist.

"The people on the rubber duck were hysterical," she said.

Love, who went to the dam for a work function with friends, said that there were six youngsters, including the boy who drowned, on the boat, and the driver.

"(Speaking as) a boater myself, no one was at fault. This was a freak accident," she said, adding that perhaps if the youngster had worn a life jacket, his life may have been saved.

Amandio da Silva, who also saw what happened, said he was picnicking with his family when he saw the tragedy unfold in the water. He said that when the driver of the boat turned, the teenager fell into the water and his head hit the propeller and he sank.

"I could see and hear everything," he said, adding that the boys on the boat were screaming. He tried to assist by taking his boat into the water.

He even dived to search for the boy but could not see him. Brigette Delport said the boy who drowned was spending the day with friends and the father of one of the boys. She said the father who drove the boat went to Pietermaritzburg to inform the boy's parents of his death.

Divers from the Midlands Diving Unit and inspector Jack Haskins of the SAPS Search and Rescue Unit searched for the body.

Haskins said they dived to a depth of 24 meters. Because of the depth, the safe dive time for the divers reached a limit and the search had to be called off. It was also stopped because of bad weather.

Haskins stressed the importance of wearing a life jacket while boating, even if one can swim.

- The Witness