Two girls drown in Mpumalanga dam

Two teenage girls drowned in Mabulala dam near White River in Mpumalanga over the weekend, police said.

Police spokesman Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said the girls, aged 15 and 18, drowned at the dam in Masoyi on Friday.

“Information received indicates the two girls, who were cousins, were with their friends when they went to the dam to wash their laundry.

“One of the girls slipped and fell into the dam. When the other tried to rescue her, she also fell in. The other friends tried to pull them out of the dam but their efforts were unsuccessful,” Hlathi said.

Police divers were called to the scene and retrieved the bodies.

The girls declared dead at the scene.

Provincial police commissioner LT-Gen Mondli Zuma has warned community members to be extra cautious when they are near rivers and dams.