SANDF called in to help with 5-year-old boy's rescue

Richard Thola, 5, fell into this hole while playing with his friends on Saturday afternoon at Jerusalema Informal settlement in Boksburg, leading to angry protests from the community. Picture: Nokuthula Mbatha

Richard Thola, 5, fell into this hole while playing with his friends on Saturday afternoon at Jerusalema Informal settlement in Boksburg, leading to angry protests from the community. Picture: Nokuthula Mbatha

Published Mar 2, 2017

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Johannesburg – Ekurhuleni Emergency services have called on South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to assist in rescuing the five-year old boy who fell into a disused mine shaft in Jerusalema informal settlement in Boksburg on Saturday.

Attempts to rescue the boy resumed on Wednesday but were suspended yet again, due to rock falls inside the shaft.

Ekurhuleni Emergency services spokesperson, William Ntladi, on Thursday said that following the suspension of the operation they had called on the SANDF to assist with alternative strategies.

"We had to escalate the matter to a political level, thus our call to the SANDF to come and assist with strategies to find the boy," said Ntladi. 

African News Agency

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