Johannesburg - Two teenage cousins aged 15 and 18 years old drowned after slipping and falling into a dam while doing the laundry.
Their friends tried to pull them out of the dam but all their efforts were unsuccessful and they disappeared into the water.
By the time police divers arrived at the scene to look for them, the teenagers were already dead.
The incident occurred on Friday in Mabulala dam at Mganduzweni Trust in Masoyi near White River, Mpumalanga.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said that according to the information they received, the girls - who are cousins- went with their friends to the dam to wash their laundry.
While busy doing the washing, Hlathi said, one of the girls slipped and fell into the dam.
"When the other one tried to rescue her, she too fell in.
"The other friends then tried to pull them out of the dam but all their efforts were unsuccessful. They then called for help where police as well as a the diving unit were summoned to the scene.
"However upon arrival, the girls were certified dead by medical personnel. An inquest was then opened and is being investigated by police," he said.
The Provincial Commissioner of South African Police Service in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma said that it was "very heartbreaking that the lives of two young girls were cut short in this drowning incident especially during the celebration of Youth Month".
Zuma said that the community should exercise extra caution when making use of rivers and dams.