KwaZulu-Natal is reeling from heartbreak after two young children lost their lives in unrelated incidents within 24 hours.
In the first tragedy, a teenage boy drowned while swimming at a beach in Richards Bay. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) reports that lifeguards from uMhlathuze launched a search after the boy was reported missing in the Bay Hall area on Sunday afternoon.
Spokesperson Craig Lambinon confirmed that police divers located and recovered the teenager’s body. “The body has been taken into the care of the government’s Forensic Pathology Services. Police have opened an inquest docket,” he said.
The second incident occurred on the R74 in the Blythedale area on the KZN north coast, where a four-year-old boy was killed in a vehicle crash. The light motor vehicle, carrying 12 passengers, reportedly overturned on Sunday afternoon.
Samantha Meyrick, spokesperson for IPSS Medical Rescue Services, said the crash left several passengers injured, with one child sustaining moderate injuries. “The patients were stabilised on the scene by various services before being transported to hospital. Sadly, a four-year-old boy was declared deceased on the scene,” Meyrick said.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding both incidents as communities mourn the tragic loss of young lives.