Michael Sakuneka

Michael Sakuneka

Police in Limpopo have warned parents not to allow their children to swim in rivers without proper supervision following several drowning incidents.

The warning comes in the wake of recent rains that have caused most rivers in the province to overflow.

A six-year-old boy drowned in Giyani, while two other boys also drowned at Lulekani, Phalaborwa, over the weekend.

Police spokesman in Giyani, Superintendent Moatshe Ngoepe, confirmed that the six-year-old boy drowned while swimming with a group of friends in a river at Rababalela village on Saturday.

In Lulekani, police had opened two inquest dockets after two children drowned in separate incidents while swimming in swollen rivers.

A Lulekani Police spokesman, Captain Phineas Chauke, told Sowetan police had experienced an increase in the number of children who ended up in trouble in overflowing rivers since the start of the rainy season. "We, therefore, call on all parents to warn their children about the dangers of playing in rivers."