Cops recover bodies from water
TWO INQUEST cases have been opened after the Kimberley police retrieved the bodies of two people who are believed to have drowned.
On Saturday afternoon, two Colville children came across a badly decomposed body and alerted authorities.
According to residents the body must have been lying in a ditch for approximately three days. “The ‘crabs’ had already been eating his body,” one resident said.
The residents added that they have raised their concerns over the ditch on numerous occasions.
“It was two children that found the man, it could just as well have been one of them who had drowned.”
After the heavy rains that fell on Friday evening, they pointed out, the flow of water in the ditch was much stronger than usual.
Police divers struggled to retrieve the body as their efforts were hampered by the dense reeds.
The body, when found, was so badly decomposed that they had a difficult time raising the body out of the water.
Police spokesperson Captain Sergio Kock confirmed the incident, saying that the body of an unknown male was discovered in the veld inside a ditch behind Beacon Primary School in Colville, Kimberley.
“The deceased could be in his sixties and was dressed in black Nike sneakers, khaki coloured trousers and a striped T-shirt. The body is said to be in an advanced stage of decomposition,” Kock said.
He added that police investigations are continuing and anyone with information can contact D/sgt Modise Moshotloa on 082 302 0407 or SMS anonymously to 32211.
Another body was also recovered on Saturday at the low level bridge near Langleg.
A group of friends were travelling in their boat when they saw the body.
“My friend and I were just going up and down the river when I happened to look left and saw something in the water. We decided to take a closer look and that was when we discovered it was the body of a woman.”
“It is believed that the woman had been in the river for quite awhile as her body was in an advanced state of decomposition and some of her flesh had been eaten away,” the man said.
Kock confirmed that on Saturday, at approximately 1.30pm, the semi-decomposed body of an unknown female was discovered in the Vaal River close to Riverton.
“The deceased is light in complexion and was found naked, only dressed in a pink brassiere. She could be between 30 and 40 years old and had scorpion tattoo on her right arm, close to her shoulder. The deceased also has another tattoo with the letters Tollo on her right wrist,” Kock said.
He added that police investigations are continuing and anyone with information can contact D/ Sgt Modise Moshotloa on 082 302 0407.