SIPHOCOSINI — The search for a 25-year-old man from Mantabeni who drowned in the Lusushwana River has been postponed for a second consecutive day because of the river’s increased, strong flow.
The man drowned on Thursday morning while attempting to cross the flooded river under Siphocosini. Police were immediately alerted and a team of scuba divers was dispatched.
However, the joint search team, comprising members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service and the Eswatini National Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services, failed to locate the body and suspended operations once again because conditions were unsafe. Sergeant Bongani Dlamini, who leads the rescue team, explained that precautionary measures were necessary as the water level had risen compared with the previous day. He said continuing the search would have exposed the team to danger, particularly because the river forms a deep pool estimated to be about five metres deep.
Asked why the search had also been called off the previous day, Dlamini said they had hoped the water would subside, but it continued to rise. He said the team’s focus remained on the area where community members said they last saw the deceased before he disappeared beneath the water.
According to witnesses and the deceased’s mother, Nosicashaza Norah Mamba, the young man drowned while crossing the river to collect loaves of bread from a bakery vehicle parked on the opposite side. He was carrying a case intended to hold the bread. It is claimed he had been sent by a community member who runs a spaza shop. Corroborating Dlamini’s account, witnesses said the deceased decided to cross after two boys had successfully crossed from the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the strong current swept him away and witnesses said he was heard screaming as he was carried downstream.
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