Uncategorized

Tragic end to school trip

19 Nov, 2021 - 00:11 0 Views
Tragic end to school trip Mr Farawo

The ManicaPost

Liberty Dube
Weekender Correspondent

A FAIRYTALE road trip and expedition for Harare pupils at one of Eastern Highlands’ tourism sites, Nyangombe Falls in Nyanga ended tragically after a 17-year-old boy drowned last week on Saturday.

Prince Matiza, who was a Lower Sixth pupil at First Choice Academy in Harare, and resided in Waterfalls drowned a few minutes after attempting to swim in Nyangombe River.

Matiza was part of 100 pupils and six teachers who had travelled from Harare on a tour of the picturesque Nyanga tourism facilities.

Efforts by one of the teachers, Mr Elijah Matanhire (34) to rescue Matiza proved fruitless as he had lost consciousness, and later died.

One of the Zimparks officials who requested anonymity citing protocol, said Matiza did not notify either ZimParks authorities or any of the teachers about the swimming expedition.

He is reported to have sneaked from the chalets where they were camped and went to the falls where he met his fate.

“It was a sad and unfortunate development. This has never happened before. We usually accompany guests on their tour of the falls, but we learnt that the pupil sneaked from the camp, and proceeded to the falls where drowned while swimming,” said the official.

Acting Manicaland provincial police spokesperson, Assistant Inspector Wiseman Chinyoka confirmed the incident, and said Matiza died upon admission at Nyanga District Hospital.

“We can confirm the death of Prince Matiza, a Lower Sixth pupil at First Choice Academy in Harare. Prince was among 100 pupils and six teachers who had gone to Nyanga on a school trip. Matiza sneaked from their camp and went to the falls without notifying the ZimParks team.

 

“He drowned, and a teacher, Mr Elijah Matanhire (34) was one of the first people to attend the scene. Mr Matiza searched for Matiza’s body and retrieved it. He was unconscious and died upon admission at Nyanga District Hospital,” he said.

He appealed to people to be cautious when playing near water bodies.

No foul play is suspected.

ZimParks spokesperson, Mr Tinashe Farawo, confirmed the incident.

“We can confirm that the incident happened, and it is quite unfortunate. The 17-year-old boy was pronounced dead upon arrival at Nyanga District Hospital,” he said.

Meanwhile, a 14-year-old boy, Clayton Magidi drowned in Nyadimba River in Chief Chikore’s area in Headlands last Sunday.

Police said Clayton was coming from church with Ngonidzashe Makwizo when they decided to swim in Nyadimba River.

He drowned before villagers could rescue him.

 

Share This:

Sponsored Links

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds