Another tragedy hit the community of Gansbaai over the weekend when two children from the district drowned in a farm dam on the farm Vlooikraal in the vicinity of Baardskeerdersbos outside Gansbaai.
Dameon de Vries (7) and his sister, Kaylie (5), were supposed to take an afternoon nap.
When André de Vries and his wife, Odete, woke up shortly after 16:00, there was no sign of Dameon and Kaylie.
They immediately started looking for their children.
Later, Odete called her sister, Berindine Venter, so that she and Johan Bester, her fiancé, could help search for the two children.
Bester said Monday the call to them was around 7 p.m.
“We arrived on the farm shortly after 20:00. The bodies of the two children were found in the farm dam at the time, “he said. The children’s toys were also found on the dam wall.
Bester says Japie Swart, owner of the farm, took the children’s bodies out of the dam.
According to Bester, the farm dam is about 20 m from the house where the de Vries family lives.
“We suspect the two slipped out while André and Odete were still asleep.”
The couple and their children have been living on the farm since last year. They used to live in Kleinbaai.
“We are going to miss the children. Their parents are broken. We are broken. “
Bester described Dameon as a real barefoot boy. “He was a farm child. He wanted to be outside. He wanted to chase cattle and play outside. ”
Kaylie was with his son at the Kleine Gansies nursery school in Gansbaai.
“She was a sweet child who just wanted to give everyone hugs and love.”
Janine Taylor, a Gansbaai resident and community worker, said Monday she was shocked by the tragedy.
“I know the children and their parents very well. I recently took photos of the two of them. What do you do, what do you tell your parents? ”
She said on Monday that she had spoken to André. “He, they are broken. His mother is with them now, but no one will ever be able to take away that pain. “
On the Facebook page Who makes for Gansbaai delicious, many people have posted messages of sympathy and sympathy since Monday morning.
Bester wrote: “sister-in-law … Dear lord has a big plan with you … All the best to you … It’s a baja sad day and the 2 kidos will definitely be missed … But know we are here to help … And Gansbaai is here to help … The kids are now sitting at the right hand of God and sitting without pain … And will always remain in our minds … ”
Sers. Police spokesperson Noloyis Rwexana confirmed on Monday that the children’s bodies had been found.
She says a forensic autopsy will be done.
• There have been two more tragic incidents in Gansbaai in the past month.
Ten-year-old Jayden Montagu from Blompark drowned at Gansbaai harbor on June 17 after he allegedly slipped on dolce and ended up in the water. His body was retrieved from the turbid water at the harbor by police divers the next day.
And on June 27, Bridgenay Slingers (18) of Blompark, Gansbaai, was killed. Her ex-boyfriend, Roderick Ward, 24, was arrested for her murder.