Boy drowns while playing in Cape dam

2012-10-26 17:22

Police (Picture: Sapa)

Johannesburg - An eight-year-old boy drowned after he fell off the polystyrene board he was floating on at a dam in Joubertina, Western Cape police said on Friday.

Shaune Shane-Dee Witbooi was playing in the middle of Die Kampie Dam with three other children when the board tilted, and he fell in, said Lieutenant Colonel Priscilla Naidu.

"None of the children could swim and by the time help arrived, Witbooi had already drowned," she said.

Naidu called on parents to keep a close eye on their children and not to allow them close to dams or rivers.

"The water levels of some of the dams and rivers are still very high and dangerous to cross over or swim [in] after the recent heavy rains," she said.

Police have opened an inquest docket.

- SAPA