DOUGLAS – Five bodies have so far been recovered from the Vaal River near Douglas in the Northern Cape following a boating accident on Thursday, 18 June.

A makeshift vessel ferrying farm workers across the Vaal River from Vaallus Farm to Olierivier Farm capsized at approximately 06:30 on Thursday, with 20 people on board.

The bodies of two males (aged 25 and 59) were recovered on Thursday following the incident. Three more bodies – two women (35 and 40) and a man (55) – were retrieved by the South African Police Service Search and Rescue Unit on Friday, 19 June.

Fourteen people survived and were treated and later discharged from hospital in Douglas. One person remains missing and is believed to have drowned, police said.

Provincial search and rescue teams suspended operations due to poor visibility on Saturday, 20 June, but resumed searching on Sunday.

Police have registered an inquest docket and investigations are continuing. All available resources have been deployed to locate the missing person.

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