Two Children of the same family drowns in Mangochi

Two related under five girls have died at Ngoyi Village in the area of Traditional Authority Mponda in Mangochi after they drowned in a pond, police confirmed on New Year’s Day.

The two minors are four-year-old Lavita Kazembe and Aisha Mtewa, three, both of whom went missing on Monday afternoon, December 31, according to Mangochi Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Rodrick Maida.

“Mr. Mtewa Mndala, an uncle to the deceased persons, reported to police that when the two went missing, a search was instituted and the bodies of Lavita and Aisha were found floating in a nearby pond at around 4pm,” Maida said.

Maida added that autopsy conducted at Mangochi District Hospital established that death was due to suffocation.

In October 2018, Maida told Malawi News Agency (Mana) that drowning cases in the year had reached seven, implying that the death of the two brings the number of drowning cases to nine in the year just ended alone.

Meanwhile, police in the district have since advised parents and guardians to look after young ones especially in the rainy season to avoid reoccurrence of similar ‘avoidable accidents of drowning.’