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Ellah Mukwati Herald Correspondent
Three girls, who are cousins aged between nine and 14, drowned in Hunyani River in Seke area at the weekend after they tried to swim in a deep pool. Police have since retrieved the bodies, which were taken to Chitungwiza Central Hospital mortuary where a post-mortem is expected to be conducted tomorrow. The three — Bridget Takawira (14), Beauty Banda and Natasha Charakupa both nine years old from Chamboko Village in Seke — had gone to the river to do their laundry.

Although police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba, could not be reached last night, one of the survivors, Precious Mutsinze, said the incident occurred when they tried to swim in a pool along the river. “The five of us including the three (now) deceased had gone to the pool to wash clothes. It was very hot so we decided to swim. The three drowned as the pool was deep, but I clung on to a rock,” she said.

“Our relative Hazvinei Chamboko, who had come to check on us managed to rescue Stella Borerwa, who was also drowning.” Ms Chamboko said she went to check on the girls after realising that her siblings were taking long to return home. “When I arrived at the pool, I was surprised to see Precious and Stella in the pool, and when I realised they were on the verge of drowning, I jumped in to rescue them. The other three had already drowned,” she said.

A family spokesperson Mr Rexmore Chikanga, said they were still in shock following the incident. “We are at a loss of words because of this incident. It is not easy to accept that we have lost three children in one day,” said Mr Chikanga. “We have never lost three people at once. This is a great loss to our family,” he said.