Seven children drown in Free State river
Seven children are among a group of eight people who drowned on a farm in Steynsrus in the Free State after the car they were travelling in was swept into a river.
The vehicle, which was transporting three men and seven children, was swept away amid the heavy rain in the province on Sunday.
“According to information, in the vehicle was the driver, 26-year-old Tshokolo Hlongwane, two adult males Mohau Mokoena and Swartbooi Hlongwane and seven children, four boys and three girls,” says Free State police spokesperson Motantsi Makhele.
“The two males and the driver managed to get out of the vehicle and escape but the driver went back into the water to try and save the children from drowning and was also swept away by water.”
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Police divers managed to recover six of the children’s bodies as well as that of the driver.
The body of the seventh child is still missing.
“The divers are still at the scene searching for the body of the child,” says Makhele.
