Two bodies recovered from Okavango River

THE bodies of Kerko Sikongo (9) and Hendrick Wayoya (17), who drowned in the Okavango River on Saturday afternoon, have been discovered.

Kerko’s body was discovered about five kilometres from where the two drowned, while Hendrick’s body was found a few metres from where they drowned.

Kerko allegedly drowned on Saturday when he slipped and fell in the river, acting regional commander of the Kavango East deputy commissioner Eino Nambahu told The Namibian yesterday.
Upon noticing that Kerko had fallen into the water, Hendrick jumped into the river in an attempt to rescue him, said Nambahu.

However, Hendrick failed to rescue Kerko and they were both taken by the strong current, and drowned in the process.
Natalia Kambinda (18) witnessed the incident and relayed what happened to the police when they arrived.
Nambahu said the bodies of the two boys could not be retrieved on Saturday as it was already dark.

On Sunday morning, Nambahu said the Namibian Police Water Wing, joined by officials from the fisheries ministry, conducted a search with two boats but no recovery was made.

Nambahu cautioned people to be careful when using the river, and said elders should accompany young children when going to river. He also discouraged elders from sending young people to the river without an adult to supervise them.