A 10-year-old boy has drowned in a dam where he had gone swimming in Balaka District.
Gladson M’bumpha Balaka police spokesperson, has identified the deceased as Rashid Peter from Kanjobvu Village in the area of Traditional Authority Sawali.
In a statement M’bumpha indicated that Rashid went to the dam with his friend, Hendelo Mussa, aged 10, from Kandengwe Village under Traditional Authority Nsamala, to swim.
While in the water, Rashid drowned and nearby villagers rushed to the scene to rescue him and took him to Balaka District Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
A postmortem conducted at the hospital revealed that the cause of death was suffocation due to drowning.
Police have since appealed to parents and guardians to closely monitor their children and discourage them from swimming in unsafe water bodies, particularly in riverbanks and dams, to avoid similar tragedies.
