Three children aged between 9 and 15 drowned in a water-logged pit left open by sand poachers in Mayambara Village in Seke on Tuesday.
The deceased children were identified as Blessing Ndhlala, 15, a Form 2 student, Stephen Masaure, 12, (Grade 6) and Queentine Madamombe, 9, (Grade 3).
They were in the company of their grandmother, Mavis Nzara, 68, when they drowned.
Gogo Mavis told H-Metro that they were looking for firewood near the Hunyani River when the incident occurred. She said:
We were looking for firewood along the river bank when the children went to the pit.
Pavandisiya ndafunga kuti varikunotsvaga makavi. One of them shouted for help, and when I rushed there, I found them struggling, and I tried in vain to rescue them.
I don’t know why they never went swimming in the shallow water. They just went into the pit for a reason I do not know.
After Gogo Mavis raised the alarm, scores of Mayambara villagers rushed to the open pit, but it was too late as the three students had already drowned. | H-Metro