A 16-year old boy has died after drowning in a dam while swimming with his friends in Dowa district.
The incident occurred on Friday at Kanyenje dam near Kanyenje primary school in the area of Traditional Authority Chiwere in the district.
Dowa Police Spokesperson Richard Kaponda has confirmed the death and has identified the boy as Chikaiko Jossam Kasinje who together with his friends went to Kanyenje dam to swim.
According to Kaponda, the boys were swimming using banana stems. While enjoying the swim, the victim lost balance, his banana stem overturned and he drowned.
“Immediately his friends ran to the nearby village to look for elders to rescue the boy but it was too late to save his life, the boy was found already dead,” Kaponda told Malawi24.
Postmortem conducted by medical personnel from Chakhungu health facility indicated that death was due to suffocation.
Police have since advised members of the general public not to leave children alone to go for swimming.
The deceased came from Sangu village in the area of Traditional Authority Chiwere in Dowa district.
