Brother and sister, aged 7 and 5, drown in dam

The Gansbaai community was left reeling following the death of two children on a farm in the area on Sunday.

Netwerk24 reported that Dameon de Vries, 7, and his sister, Kaylie, 5, drowned in a dam on the farm Vlooikraal in the Baardskeerdersbos area, near Gansbaai.

Their parents, André and Odete de Vries, were under the impression that the children were taking a nap. When they woke up at around 16:00, the children were reportedly nowhere to be found.

According to Netwerk24, a search ensued and family members were summoned to help locate Dameon and Kaylie.

By 20:00, their bodies had been found in the dam, some 20 metres from their home. Some of their belongings were reportedly found next to the dam.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said at about 19:45, members of the Gansbaai police responded to a drowning complaint on the farm.

“Upon arrival, the bodies of children aged five and seven, girl and boy respectively, were found. A death inquest case has been opened for investigation.”

A Facebook post about the incident drew an outpour of condolences from the local community.

Gansbaai has had no shortage of tragic deaths lately.

Last month, 10-year-old Jayden Montagu drowned at the Gansbaai harbour. He allegedly fell into the water on the outside of the harbour wall on 17 June, the National Sea Rescue Institute reported. His body was found the following day.

The small seaside town was also shocked by the murder of a teenage schoolgirl, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, on 28 June.

According to EWN, Bridgenay Slingers, 18, was found dead in Blompark in Gansbaai.

Roderick Ward, 21, was arrested that same day.

It’s believed Ward had been in a relationship with Slingers but they had recently broken up.

 – Compiled by Riaan Grobler