RESIDENTS from Vosho squatter camp in Samora Machel, Cape Town are in shock after a man drowned in a pond.
They told Daily Sun that at about 7pm on Saturday, 30 July, they heard a man calling for help from the middle of a pond that has huge grass in it.
The pond is between a main road and the squatter camp.
It’s not clear how the man ended up in water, but some residents believe he was being chased.
Residents said it was painful to witness a person dying while being unable to get help.
“We heard him calling for help, so I called residents to come and residents tried to get in to help but the pond is too deep. So everyone ended up waiting for cops to come and assist. But cops came almost three hours later and the man had stopped calling for help as he had drowned already,” said a resident.
The man was retrieved from the water on Sunday afternoon.
Residents who saw his body said he was not from their area. Another resident, Mlamli Tshova (44), said there was no way that a person could just walk into a huge pond.
“His life must have been in danger, and he was trying to run to the nearest houses that he saw. It’s not possible for a person to walk into that water willingly,” he said.
When the man’s body was retrieved, residents who saw him said he was wearing red takkies and a maroon T-shirt. “It’s painful that we couldn’t help. People also feared for their lives because the pond is deep,” said resident Ayanda Mashiqa (30).
Police spokesman Colonel Andre Traut confirmed the incident, saying: “This office can confirm that the man’s death is under investigation. An inquest docket has been registered.”
