Toddler drowns in pond

A ONE-YEAR-OLD baby from Honde Valley drowned after she fell into a pond after following her sister who had gone to take a bath.

The baby from Muterere Village under Chief Mutasa drowned on April 24 at around 2pm.

Manicaland police spokesperson Inspector Tavhiringwa Kakohwa confirmed the incident.

“We received a report following the death of a one-year and four months old baby girl of Muterere Village, Honde Valley under Chief Mutasa, who fell into a 5-metre deep pond and died,” he said.

“At around 2pm in Honde Valley, this baby followed her nine-year-old sister to the pond which was 26 metres away from their homestead to take a bath. The nine-year-old did not notice that her younger sister was following her to the pond.”

Insp Kakohwa said the baby tripped and fell into the pond. “While she was following her sister who was going to take a bath, the juvenile tripped and fell into a five-metre deep pond. While she was struggling for her life, her older sister rushed to the homestead to call their father, Jeremiah Mwareka (66), who rushed to the scene in a bid to rescue his daughter,” he said.

The matter was reported to Ruda Police Station before police attended the scene.

The body of Mr Mwareka’s daughter was taken to Hauna Hospital for a postmortem.

Insp Kakohwa advised members of the public to monitor their children in areas where there are open water bodies.