2 CHILDREN KILLED, 3 INJURED BY STORM

NKWENE – Two children were killed when storm-driven winds resulted in the collapse of the house they were in, leaving three other family members injured on Monday evening.
The deceased siblings – a boy aged two and a girl aged four – were buried in the rubble and had to be retrieved covered in mud.

They were confirmed dead upon arrival at the Hlatikhulu Government Hospital and their bodies were taken to the morgue.
The survivors, two boys; aged 11 and nine years, together with a 67-year-old elderly woman, were all rushed to the same hospital, where the media found medical personnel still administering treatment on them.

shock

The elderly woman was later sent to the health facility’s Psychiatric Unit, because of the state of shock which she was in when she was brought by police to the hospital.
The two boys were in a stable condition but hospital staff said they were still assessing their situation.

Tragedy struck the Mamba family of Ekuphumuleni, at Nkwene, when heavy rain accompanied by hail and wind swept across the area, leaving everybody bewildered.
This was probably the worst weather related disaster to hit the area in recent times, as stated by community members.

“We thought everything was coming to an end. The wind was very strong and hail had deluged the whole area,” said Thoko Mamba.
Valuables, including food and money, in the form of the elderly grant which was recently paid to the 67-year-old woman, were all buried in the rubble that was left of the stick and mud house which served as shelter for the family.
Nqabeni Dlamini (20), a Form I pupil who braved the severe storm, retrieved the bodies of the children from underneath a pile of stones and mud.

He said he used a shovel to remove the rubble which had also got the elderly woman stuck in the mud.
Relating the events of the evening, Nqabeni said he was woken up by his two nephews, who flung open the door to his room as the heavy rain poured.
“They were panting and looked confused. They told me that their house had collapsed and could not readily give answers on the whereabouts of their grandmother and the two other children,” he said.
The pupil said he wasted no time and took a shovel with him to the scene.

“The elderly woman was crying, submerged in the rubble.
“It was already too late to save the two young ones.”
Nqabeni said he then ran to neighbouring homesteads to raise an alarm.

Residents came to the young man’s rescue, and a hurried call was made to the Hlatikhulu Police Station.
Police, who were reported to be attending to other disaster-related incidents, only arrived at the homestead at around 2am, after the initial call was made at around 8pm.
Assistant Superintendent Khulani Mamba, Police Information and Communications Officer, confirmed the incident.
He said the two siblings died on the spot and were ferried to the Hlatikhulu Government Hospital morgue.

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