The community of Dlamini, Soweto is still searching for the body of six-year-old Khaya Magadla.
It is understood that the little boy fell into a man-hole Sunday afternoon. Khayalethu Magadla was playing with his friends when the incident took place.
The Johannesburg Emergency Services personnel has been on the scene since Monday to recover the body of the little boy who was reported missing on Sunday afternoon. However, rescue operations only began searching for his body on Monday. Michael Sun from the Johannesburg Environment and Infrastructure Services said that they will monitor the situation and make sure that no resource is spared.
The boy’s family is praying that they recover his little body. ‘’It is our wish that they find his body, as we have already accepted the reality that he’s no longer alive just so that we can have closure’’ his father said. The hole is allegedly 1.8 meters deep.
The Magadla family has expressed that as the day goes by without any sign or trace of Khaya’s body, the less hope they have of finding him alive. However, they do need his body to be found so that they can have closure and give him a dignified send-off.
Some residents of Dlamini also expressed their anger towards Johannesburg Water for leaving this whole abandoned and unattended knowing that it is a dangerous site. The hole has since been closed, but unfortunately, it was only closed following the six-year-old disappearance.
Residents raised their concerns because there is another man-hole similar to the one that Magadla fell in at another area nearby which has also been left abandoned by Johannesburg water
The search for the missing boy continues, and the community of Dlamini has also come out at large to assist the teams from Johannesburg Emergency Services with recovering his body.
The operations by the EMS have been halted for now and are expected to resume tomorrow, which will be day four since the young boy has gone missing.
