HEAVY rainfall is making things worse for the family of Andile Mkhatshwa who drowned on Sunday, 5 February.
The grade 12 pupil (18) from Nkomazi, Mpumalanga, sneaked out from his boarding residence with a friend on Sunday to go to the local mall but drowned in the raging Mlumati River.
Mkhatshwa’s friend managed to swim to safety and called for help.
Mkhatshwa’s aunt Lindiwe Shongwe (51) told Daily Sun they were losing hope of finding the boy as the floods were making it difficult for the police to continue searching.
“We were hoping that we can bury him and find closure. The family might live with this permanent pain forever if the rain continues like this,” she said.
Lindiwe said the police did not spend enough time searching.
“If they had kept searching it could have made a difference,” she said.
“But now we understand that the weather is bad and we must accept the effort they are making.”
In another incident, a 60-year-old man was swept away last Thursday, 2 February.
The man had allegedly requested his friend to accompany him to the river where he set a fish trap. He disappeared into the river and was not seen again.
The heavy downpour has left the Nkomazi area with flooded homes and damaged roads.
Nkomazi Local Municipality spokesman Cyril Ripinga said they remained on high alert.
“More than 11 bridges are under water. We are also trying to evacuate those staying in low-lying areas,” he said.
He said the municipality would commence with a damage assessment as soon as the storms have passed.
Meanwhile, the Kruger National Park has closed Crocodile Bridge which is under water.
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SANParks spokesman Isaac Phaahla said they were watching the Malelane gate in the Nkomazi area closely.
“The park is operating normally but we have closed gravel routes as a precaution. So far, no infrastructure has been damaged and there are no casualties,” he said.
Police spokesman Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the search for the two had been halted because of the bad weather.
“We will resume when it is safe to do so,” he said.
