Teenager drowns at public pool

An 11-year-old boy drowned in a municipal pool while his two friends had a narrow escape at the Wooden Bridge resort at Katima Mulilo on Monday last week. The Greenwell Matongo primary school learner, whose identity has not yet been released to the public, and two of his friends were swimming without parental supervision. It was the third such incident in the two months that the pool has been open to the public. In the previous two cases, people were saved from drowning by fellow pool users and were taken to hospital. This led to public requests that the pool be closed since there were no lifeguards stationed there. In response, the Katima Mulilo municipality has since appointed two lifeguards to keep an eye on swimmers. Mayor Charles Matengu said the municipality would ensure the safety of pool users and reiterated that safety regulations would be strictly enforced in future. “We have now [acquired] the services of two experienced lifeguards from the emergency department of the municipality, while we are looking into permanently employing or outsourcing such services,” Matengu said. A security guard who was on duty at the pool last Monday told Namibian Sun that the drowned boy, who hails from Lisikili village, and his two friends were first swimming in the baby pool before they jumped into the large pool, which is over two metres deep at the deep end. The guard said the boy’s friends screamed for help when he saw him sinking to the bottom of the pool. “An adult man who was also swimming in the same pool managed to pull out the boys, as we [security guards] cannot swim,” one guard said. He said someone performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on two of the boys. “Only one came about and coughed, while hope was lost for the other,” said the security guard. KATIMA MULILO FAITH SANKWASA