Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau ZIMBABWE and South African police have retrieved the bodies of 15 suspected border jumpers who drowned whi...
Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
ZIMBABWE and South African police have retrieved the bodies of 15 suspected border jumpers who drowned while crossing the crocodile infested Limpopo River.The bodies were found by police on patrol 3km on the eastern side of the old Limpopo Bridge on Wednesday morning near the Beitbridge town council’s peri-urban farm.
It is reported that the 15 bodies, some of which had missing limbs, had been hidden in a cave by crocodiles.
Fourteen of the bodies have been positively identified as Zimbabweans and they are being kept at Musina government mortuary in South Africa.
The police officer commanding Beitbridge district chief superintendent Patrick Majuta said yesterday that they were yet to ascertain the exact number of bodies which were retrieved but South African police said they had taken 15 bodies to the mortuary.
“We have sent in our police details to South Africa with some relatives who claimed to have lost their loved ones to verify the actual number of people who drowned.
“We are also appealing to those with missing relatives to come forward for possible identification of the bodies,” he said.
Chief Supt Majuta said they had upped patrols along the boundary line with the view of reducing crimes such as smuggling, irregular migration, rape, stock theft and robberies.
He also urged people to desist from crossing into either country through undesignated entry points as they risked their lives and prosecution.
A police officer from South Africa said yesterday that they were working with their Zimbabwean counterparts in facilitating the repatriation of the bodies.
“We have recovered 15 bodies from the Limpopo River. So far 14 have been positively identified as Zimbabweans,” said the police officer.
Acting chairman of the district civil protection unit Peter Moyo said it was worrying that people continued to lose their lives in the Limpopo River rather than applying for proper travel documents which are readily available in the country.
The Limpopo River is used as a conduit for irregular migration by mainly people from the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia and Somalia), Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistani and Mozambique.
ZIMBABWE and South African police have retrieved the bodies of 15 suspected border jumpers who drowned while crossing the crocodile infested Limpopo River.The bodies were found by police on patrol 3km on the eastern side of the old Limpopo Bridge on Wednesday morning near the Beitbridge town council’s peri-urban farm.
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| 15 bodies recovered from Limpopo River |
Fourteen of the bodies have been positively identified as Zimbabweans and they are being kept at Musina government mortuary in South Africa.
The police officer commanding Beitbridge district chief superintendent Patrick Majuta said yesterday that they were yet to ascertain the exact number of bodies which were retrieved but South African police said they had taken 15 bodies to the mortuary.
“We have sent in our police details to South Africa with some relatives who claimed to have lost their loved ones to verify the actual number of people who drowned.
“We are also appealing to those with missing relatives to come forward for possible identification of the bodies,” he said.
Chief Supt Majuta said they had upped patrols along the boundary line with the view of reducing crimes such as smuggling, irregular migration, rape, stock theft and robberies.
He also urged people to desist from crossing into either country through undesignated entry points as they risked their lives and prosecution.
A police officer from South Africa said yesterday that they were working with their Zimbabwean counterparts in facilitating the repatriation of the bodies.
“We have recovered 15 bodies from the Limpopo River. So far 14 have been positively identified as Zimbabweans,” said the police officer.
Acting chairman of the district civil protection unit Peter Moyo said it was worrying that people continued to lose their lives in the Limpopo River rather than applying for proper travel documents which are readily available in the country.
The Limpopo River is used as a conduit for irregular migration by mainly people from the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia and Somalia), Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistani and Mozambique.
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