Missing man's body found on Christmas Day at Hartbeespoort Dam

Authorities said that they have located and recovered the body of a man who went missing on Tuesday afternoon in Hartbeespoort Dam while fishing.

The police divers recovered the body on Christmas Day with the help of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Hartbeespoort Dam and Strategic Rescue Unit (SRU).

The search began at around 4.15pm on Tuesday, according to Arthur Crewe, the NSRI Hartbeespoort Dam station commander. 

The team was on high alert after they received reports of a missing man in Hyacinth while fishing from a canoe near Kosmos, Hartbeespoort Dam.

“The NSRI rescue craft Sea Legs was launched and NSRI rescue swimmers, SRU, and the SA Police Services responded,” Craig Lambinon, the NSRI Spokesperson said.

“An extensive search operation revealed no signs of the local adult man, believed to be from Malawi, and the Police Water Policing and Diving Services (WPDS) were activated and joined in an ongoing search operation,” he added.

Lambinon noted that on Wednesday, at around 10:30am, police divers, assisted by NSRI Hartbeespoort Dam and SRU, located and recovered the body of the man from the water.

The body was then taken into the care of Police and Government Health forensic Pathology Services.

Police have subsequently opened an inquest docket.

Toddler’s body recovered

On Monday, authorities said that the search for a missing two-year-old boy ended in tragedy when his body was found in a river leading to the Hartbeespoort Dam.

Crewe said a duty crew were activated by police last Friday to assist in an ongoing search for the toddler who had been missing since Thursday last week in the vicinity of Eeladsfontein, Tshwane, on a subsidiary river leading to Hartbeespoort Dam, near the N4 Magalies Freeway.

The toddler's family had reportedly last seen the child playing in a field in the vicinity of the river area near the Hartbeespoort Dam, but after failing to return home the alarm was raised.

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