BEITBRIDGE - A 24-year-old Bulawayo woman drowned in the Limpopo River together with a Beitbridge man who was assisting her illegally cross the border into South Africa, police said.
The Matabeleland South provincial police spokesperson, Inspector Tafanana Dzirutwe said the incident occurred on Friday at around 6pm.
On the fateful day, the now deceased woman who was in company of her husband, Mlungisi Sithole (31) and their three year-old son approached the now deceased man, Takani Ndlovu so that he could assist them for a fee to illegally cross to South Africa.
Soon after agreeing on a fee, they then proceeded to an illegal crossing point popularly known as Mai Maria where on arrival they went into the Limpopo River intending to cross the border.
However, in the process of crossing the flooded river, the woman and Ndlovu were swept away by the strong tide and subsequently drowned, he said.
The womans husband managed to rescue his son and swam back to the Zimbabwean side, where he reported the matter to the police.
Dzirutwe identified the deceased woman as Clementia Nkomo (24), of Bulawayo.
The two bodies have not yet been retrieved and a police sub aqua unit team has since been deployed to the scene.
The incident comes barely a week after two Zvishavane men drowned in the same river while trying to cross into South Africa. The incident occurred on 6 February at Mawale illegal crossing point.
We continue to warn people against attempting to cross flooded rivers as they risk drowning. In fact, we urge our people to acquire travel documents if they want to cross the border rather than resorting to using illegal points, said the police spokesperson.
Post published in: News