BEITBRIDGE, Feb. 26 (NewsDay Live) - The body of a 17-year-old Shashi villager who was swept away after his boat capsized along the Limpopo River has been recovered more than 120 kilometres downstream.
Beitbridge police boss Chief Superintendent Mesuli Ncube confirmed the incident, adding that the teenager's body was retrieved by villagers.
"The deceased was part of a group of seven who ventured into the river at the confluence of the Shashi and the Limpopo rivers aboard a boat with smuggled goods including mealie-meal. We heard the boat may have been overloaded, resulting in it tipping over. Occupants and goods fell into the raging river but subject failed to swim. Others did," said Ncube.
The deceased's body was positively identified, he said.
Most vllagers living closer to the border use illegal crossing points to enter South Africa, usually on makeshift boats and canoes.
The majority of them engage in illegal activities such as smuggling for a living.
Zimbabwe and South Africa have of late employed drone technologies to patrol the river with both sides reportedly recording notable success.
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