THE JOHANNESBURG Water team is searching for a child who fell down a manhole while playing with friends.
The six-year-old boy has been missing for almost 24 hours – and the search is continuing.
It is alleged the boy was playing with friends in Dlamini Park, Soweto, on Sunday afternoon when he slipped and fell down the manhole.
One of the friends informed the boy’s parents.
However, the matter was only reported to Johannesburg Water on Monday.
The Johannesburg Water spokesperson, Seipati Nyawuza, said it was still unclear as to why the matter was not reported immediately.
“A missing person notice was making rounds on WhatsApp yesterday, which was then sent to me. In the post, there is a call for assistance in searching for the young boy.
“We, however, were notified of this incident only today [Monday],” said Nyawuza.
Although the missing notice was not issued by the family, Nyawuza said they were still trying to establish why the parents did not report the matter at the time.
Nyawuza said they had made contact with the family to get more information, but did not learn anything new.
“We are still trying to find out what exactly happened, but the family is traumatised at the moment,” she said.
Johannesburg Water said the community should allow the officials to carry out their work and allow the family space during this time.
Emergency Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said the search is continuing.
“The EMS, police and the Johannesburg Water team are on-site and still conducting the search for the boy.
“Once there is a development, the information will be shared,” said Mulaudzi.
Image (Man-hole that a young boy fell into in Soweto).
