A Gauteng rugby team’s sporting weekend has been marred by tragedy. Two boys from the Hoërskool Birchleigh in Grade 10 and 12, allegedly drowned while on a beach trip on Sunday.
"According to information at our disposal, the school was in Durban from March 24, where learners were participating in a rugby tournament and were scheduled to return on March 31," said Gauteng MEC, Panyaza Lesufi.
He said the learners had gone down Durban’s North beach.
Some were assisted to the shore by lifeguards after they experienced troubles while swimming. When staff conducted a headcount, they found that two learners were missing.
#sapsKZN Today DBN #SAPS #SAR & Metro Police SAR divers recovered the bodies of 2 male drowning victims, aged 17 and 18, at Laguna Beach and Country Club beach respectively. The boys attended a Rugby Tournament in KZN. Inquest dockets opened. ME pic.twitter.com/UGFPFjivL3
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) March 28, 2022
Lesufi said all the learners were accompanied back to the accommodation while the teachers searched the vicinity looking for the two missing learners.
He said the search went on until the evening with no success, after which the teachers opened a missing persons case at Durban Central Police Station.
The boys' bodies were found on Monday morning, 2km north of the beach from where they went swimming.
“Police are investigating circumstances surrounding the incident. The deceased learners are from Birchleigh and Tembisa respectively.
Our Psycho-Social unit has been dispatched to counsel the school community of Hoërskool Birchleigh, and this counselling will continue upon return of the learners from Durban," Lesufi said.
“It’s disheartening that a positive sporting school trip that our learners passionately participated in ended in such a tragic manner. We convey our most heartfelt condolences to the two affected families and the school community at large,” he added.
Police are have opened two inquests.
IOL