Kimberley -
A four-year-old girl from Ritchie died at her family home after apparently being electrocuted while washing her hands at an outside tap.
The family of Durencia Lawan could on Tuesday still not believe that she was dead following the freak accident on Monday evening.
The child’s mother, Margaret Lawan, who was sitting next to a white candle she had lit for her daughter, on Tuesday told the DFA what happened in the moments before Durencia’s death.
She said she had just switched on the stove to start preparing supper on Monday evening when she heard her six-year-old son and another boy calling for help.
“Durencia had come from next door where she was playing with the neighbour’s kids. She came to the side of the house, where the outside water tap is situated, to wash her hands. As she was holding her hands under the water, her body suddenly became stiff and her eyes rolled backwards. We thought she was having a fit but when her father grabbed her, he received an electric shock,” Lawan said.
She added that she called a nurse who lived down the street to came and assist, as her daughter was still alive at that point.
“The nurse and my husband attended to my daughter and we performed CPR on her. She was still alive and her eyes seemed to return to normal.
“When an ambulance arrived, the two paramedics took her and treated her, but she died in the ambulance while it still stood in front of the house,” the mother said.
The child’s body was later removed by a pathology van and taken for a post-mortem.
Lawan fondly remembered her daughter as a real “water-baby”.
“She loved nothing more than playing in water. We are heartbroken that she died during such a mysterious incident. How an electric current got inside the tap, that we have been using for more than 20 years without any incident, is inexplicable. Her death has left us completely baffled,” she added.
Community and family members also reacted in disbelief following the incident, which they considered “very strange”.
“Why? How? Where will we get answers,” the child’s grandmother, Mieta Julies, asked.
“Today we are heartbroken and sore, especially because of the strange circumstances surrounding her death,” community members said.
The mother added: “Waking up this morning without my youngest child and only daughter has been devastating. I already do, and will always, miss her.”
Police spokesman, Lieutenant Sergio Kock, on Tuesday confirmed that the Modderriver Police were investigating an inquest following the death of Durencia Lawan.
Kock said that the four-year-old girl died on the scene (at her home) on September 8 at approximately 6pm after apparently being electrocuted while washing her hands.
He added that the investigation continues.
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