After a week-long search, police have finally retrieved the body of a man who jumped into the Hennops River in Centurion on Sunday, December 22, while attempting to evade arrest.
According to provincial SAPS spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo, the suspect was initially apprehended by security officers in Centurion for the alleged theft of lights.
Masondo said that while being handcuffed and questioned, the suspect managed to escape and jumped into the Hennops River.
“The SAPS search and rescue team was summoned the same day and commenced their search for him,” Masondo stated.
“Unfortunately, the suspect’s body was only found on Thursday, December 26, in the same river.”
A previous search operation faced challenges, with the metro’s Emergency Services Department (ESD) calling off their efforts due to heavy rainfall on December 23.
The incident was initially reported to the Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) at 07:15 on December 22 as a drowning near West Avenue, close to the Supersport Park Cricket Stadium.
In response, the ECC dispatched firefighting resources from the Centurion Fire Station to the scene.
At the time, Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Lindsay Mnguni said that firefighters and rescuers from the fire and rescue operations division, along with divers from the South African Police Service’s water unit, discovered that a man of unconfirmed age had fled from the custody of security guards and was swept away by the strong current.
“Firefighters and police divers searched inside the river and on the riverbanks. The search was very intricate and risky due to rising water levels and strong currents, exacerbated by rainfall upstream,” Mnguni explained.
He said after hours of intensive search operations, they had to suspend the search due to safety concerns for the rescuers.
Search efforts resumed the following morning on December 23, although Mnguni indicated that wet weather conditions continued to complicate their operations.
“Due to the heavy rains that occurred overnight, the river presents unsafe working conditions for search and rescue. The teams will continue to monitor the river conditions to safely perform their operations,” he said at the time.
The body was only recovered on the 26th of December.
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