The four children killed when they were electrocuted while playing in water at Klipfontein Mission Station in Philippi were apparently returning from a sleepover at the weekend.
They had just accompanied two of their friends home when they decided to jump into a dam caused by flooding on Monday.
“They were not aware that a live electricity wire had fallen into the water. They died instantly from electrocution.
The wire had fallen due to the wind over the weekend and it killed them,” said ward councillor Mboniswa Chitha.
“They were on their way home from a sleepover when this happened. There were six children in total. They (the four) first accompanied two of their friends home, and on their way back decided to play in the water, and that’s when it happened.”
The children were aged between 12 and 13 years old. Their grieving parents were traumatised and disoriented after what transpired.
“I have met with three of the four families and I have no words to describe the pain in their eyes. They are weeping uncontrollably because these were children; no parents expect to bury a child. They are heartbroken, they are inconsolable,” said Chitha.
Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said the circumstances leading to the incident were still under investigation.
“Philippi East police responded to a complaint on Monday. Upon their arrival at a local dam in Klipfontein Mission Station informal settlement at around 3pm, they found the community members retrieving the bodies of four boys from the water.
“The victims, aged between 12 and 13 were declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel. A post-mortem will be conducted to confirm the cause of death. Philippi East police registered an inquest for further investigation,” he said.
Community activist Zanele Lubuzo said: “Our electricity connection is built around the water and it seems the young children were unaware. Even when you look at the water, there is steam but the children could not have known what was to happen. This is not the first death here and we are emotional and distraught.”
In Driftsands, which is a stone’s throw from where the boys died, four more people were confirmed dead in the Covid-19 informal settlement after being electrocuted during storms that lashed the province, according to the City’s Disaster Risk Management.
While police could not confirm this incident, the City said in a statement: “Unfortunately, the Disaster Operations Centre has had confirmation of eight fatalities caused by electrocution – four people died in the Covid-19 informal settlement in Driftsands, as well as four children in the Klipfontein area.”
Ward councillor Ernest Madikane said the Covid-19 informal settlement was built next to a river, in a wetland.
“We had the same situation last year where people died due to electrocution.
Covid-19 (informal settlement) is very dangerous. This is a river, no one is supposed to stay here. We will lose many lives here and the people don’t even have basic services,” he said.
Mbulelo Yedwa, Eskom’s general manager Eskom Distribution for Cape Coastal Cluster, said: “Losing children in such a tragic way is never easy and we need to protect them by ensuring that they have a safe and secure environment to play. We urge the community to come forward with information that can put those responsible for illegally connecting to the electricity network behind bars.”
“We need the support from members of the community to come forward and share critical information that may assist to stop the scourge of illegal connections and hold those responsible accountable for the needless deaths of these young children,” he said.
The provincial Disaster Risk Management said several areas had been flooded, affecting 12 000 people.
Mayco member for human settlements Carl Pophaim said: “In some areas where the water will take longer to evaporate due to the soil conditions, and where the safety risk is pronounced, City teams will look at draining water where feasible.
“Full assessments of households in need are being done across the metro. The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) remains the lead relief authority.
“The unprecedented large scale unlawful occupations during Covid-19 and the national lockdown, created 186 new informal settlements. Importantly, more than 60% of these new settlements are considered high-risk – situated under power lines, in wetlands, retention ponds and biodiversity protected areas. We’d need about 500ha of land for these new occupants, identified to be at risk due to their physical location.”
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis signed a “major incident declaration” which allows for the unlocking of additional resources.
Cape Times