Sinkhole swallows teenager during Kliptown deluge

Neighbours rushed to the aid of a 16-year-old boy on Saturday after he fell into a sinkhole that formed on a road in Kliptown, Soweto, after heavy rains fell in the area on Saturday.

Masoog Sylvester was returning home when the flooded road he was walking on collapsed as the sinkhole formed.

His mother, Tasneema, who watched as the ordeal unfolded, said Union Road was flooded.  The road collapsed just meters from her house, and she looked on helplessly as her son was dragged into the sinkhole which was awash with floodwater.

“I was watching him trying to get home and I yelled to him to stay where he  was because I was scared the water would sweep him away.

 “Before I knew it, the road opened and he was sinking in. I could see he was calm. But the water was still flowing down the hill into the hole.. I could not get to him because the road was completely covered with water and I would risk being swept away by the current,” she said.

She said her son had managed reach and grasp the edge of the sinkhole.

Masoog was rescued by neighbours who pulled him out of the sinkhole and dragged him  over the fence.

Meanwhile, scores of homes in the Sidikidikini informal settlement in Kliptown were flooded with some residents having to throw away ruined food.

Thulani Mashamba said the downpour had trapped her and her two-month-old baby in her room.

“Water was flooding into the house ... I was scared because we risk drowning should the levels rise.”

The 24-year-old mother said she had to throw out rice, maize meal and sugar as they were ruined as the storm water surged through her home.

“As it stands, I am wondering where my next meal will come from now that my food is gone ... I rely on a grant money,” she said.

On Sunday morning, residents were hanging their clothes and blankets out to dry. , Others were sweeping the storm water out of their homes.

Along the collapsed Union Road, children were seen playing among the pools of water using rocks to fill the hole to allow them to cross the road.

Rebecca Mfungquza said the latest sinkhole was nothing new.

"Last year my daughter fell into a sinkhole that was caused by water erosion every time it flooded..

“She was going to the shops to buy sweets after a rainy day. Luckily her uncle saw her and was able to pull her out of the water,” she said.

“We reported this to our leaders, but the municipality only cordoned that area off with cement barriers. No permanent solution ever came of it. Does a child need to die before anything is done?“ she asked.

According to the City of Johannesburg the floods affected parts of Kliptown, Dlamini, Molapo, Eldorado Park and Rockville. The city has set up a joint command centre at the Maponya Mall to coordinate relief efforts.

Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda visited the area to assess damage and talk to the community yesterday.

The city said a team of water technicians were on the ground in anticipation of another heavy downpour on Sunday night.

The Human Settlements department was also in the area conducting an assessment of individuals displaced as a result of the flooding.