Cape Town - The two cousins, an eight-year-old and a six-year-old, who drowned while playing at the river mouth under the R310 bridge near Muizenberg on Friday will be buried this coming weekend.
Their distraught grandmother, Velma John, spoke to the Cape Times on Monday about the tragedy, saying the family is waiting for a police forensic pathology test to determine the cause of death before making any conclusions.
The family will only be able to view the bodies on Wednesday.
John said she was in Pretoria when she heard the news and came down to Cape Town immediately.
Fernando Johnson, 6, and his 8-year-old cousin Cameron Johnson were playing in the water next to a bridge in Muizenberg with two other children when they drowned.
“The police called and told the family what they discovered. We don’t know what happened,” said John.
Police spokesperson André Traut said an inquest docket had been opened for investigation following the drowning.
National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Strandfontein duty crew were activated following reports from the Police Dive Unit that the two cousins had drowned in an estuary at the Zandvlei River mouth near Muizenberg.
NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said a sea rescue vehicle was dispatched to the scene and received help from a number of emergency and safety services including the Police Dive Unit, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services.
“Witnesses reported four children, believed to be males, playing in the water at the R310 bridge in Muizenberg.
“They then discovered two children, believed to be from that group of four children, lying at the bottom, in the water,” said Lambinon.
“The bodies of both children were recovered from the water by police divers and taken into the care of the Forensic Pathology Services,” he added.
Meanwhile, the parents of a one-year-old boy - who had been found abandoned in the rocks at Strandfontein Pavilion on New Year’s Day - face being charged with neglect, according to Safety and Security mayoral committee member JP Smith.
Smith said the child’s father had been inebriated while the mother had also been under the influence of alcohol.
The child was handed over to the Department of Social Department for further investigation. “The parents need to face consequences for their actions,” said Smith.