Days after a fatal drowning in Camps Bay, another drowning incident has claimed a child’s life in the Western Cape.
The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said sea rescue teams were alerted to a drowning incident at Kleinmond Main Beach Lagoon on Saturday, where a nine-year-old boy was found underwater and unresponsive.
The child was there with his family.
“On arrival on the scene we found bystander Good Samaritans were in the process of recovering a child from the water and CPR efforts were commenced by bystanders, including by a clinical practitioner, on the local 9 year old male who had been discovered underwater in the lagoon,” said NSRI spokesperson, Craig Lambinon.
Lambinon said efforts to resuscitate the child were unsuccessful.
“The body of the child has been taken into the care of Police and Government Health Forensic Pathology Service. Family of the child are in the care of Police. Condolences are conveyed to the family of the deceased child,” noted Lambinon.
An inquest docket has been opened by police in the area for further investigation.
A day after this incident, another child and his pet were rescued from danger in Yzerfontein.
Lambinon said rescue crews were alerted to a child and a dog in difficulty at the Yzerfontein Harbour on Sunday morning. They found the child wearing a life jacket.
“It appears that the 9 year old child was preparing to join family on paddle craft in the harbour when their dog ran after family, who were already paddling on paddle craft in the harbour, pulling the child with the dog leash into the water where they found themselves in a spot of trouble, caught in a rip current, with the dog appearing to cling on to the child for floatation,” said Lambinon.
The boy and the dog were returned safely to shore and reunited with his family.
These incidents come just days after an eight-year-old boy died in a drowning incident in Camps Bay.
READ MORE: Eight year old boy drowns in Camps Bay Tidal Pool – Smile 90.4FM


