Cop saves boys from drowning

2008-01-22 21:02

Johannesburg - A police constable who cannot swim saved three boys from drowning in a dam at Millennium squatter camp near Kimberley, police said on Tuesday.

Superintendent Xolani Mbanyana said the officer had stopped to warn the boys of the possibility of drowning when he noticed that two of them were already struggling in the water on Saturday.

"He struggled a lot because he cannot swim, but he managed to rescue one of the three boys who had already disappeared under water. He had to resuscitate him because he was already unconscious at the time," Mbanyana said.

The three told the police that they were using five-litre wine plastic bottles to help them swim but lost control.

Mbanyana warned children to swim under the supervision of their parents.

"Residents should make sure that big dams are fenced even if most of the time they are dry because when it rains they become full of water unnoticed."

- SAPA