Greenside High head boy's body found in Vaal Dam

The body of 18-year-old Greenside High School head boy Reza Saloojee, who disappeared at the Vaal Dam on Sunday, has been found.

He drowned in the dam about 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon during an outing with his family.

His father, Bilal Saloojee, recounted the events in an interview with TimesLIVE.

“When the incident happened, they were fishing. He came with his cousins. My nephew, who is older, came through with him as well. As they were busy packing up, it became windy and one of the boxes that they had with them, a floating tackle box, flew into the water. He ran in to get it, tried to rescue it and went in a bit. And the water took him. The current was quite strong, and he went out quite far,” said Bilal.

Bilal, who was at the scene as divers continued their three search for his son, confirmed the body was recovered in the dam just before 5pm.

He described his son as a caring and loving person.

“He was just a loving child. He was the joy of the world,” said Bilal. “He was a head boy at Greenside High. He’s done exceptionally well at school, academically and socially, being part of their leadership team and involved with their activities.

“He was quiet but really thrived in everything he did. He loves sport as well. He was active in his sport and religious as well. He was just a loving child. He was the joy of the world.”

Bilal expressed gratitude for the consistent updates from local authorities who searched for his son.

“What I do appreciate with the police captain in the area as well as the head of the search group is they kept us briefed , so the family knew what was happening. They got additional divers to assist them.”

TimesLIVE