COMMANDOES RETRIEVE BODY IN CROCODILE-INFESTED KAFUE RIVER
A team of elite commandos from the Zambia Army has today retrieved the body of a 14-year-old boy who drowned in the crocodile-infested Kafue River in Kitwe.
The boy, identified as Francis Mapalo of Chipata Compound, had gone swimming with friends when tragedy struck. Witnesses said the teenager was swept away in one of the common raw water intake channels and disappeared beneath the murky waters.
After local residents’ frantic search efforts failed, authorities moved in to coordinate a formal retrieval operation, this time bringing in special forces. Kitwe District Commissioner Oncemore Ngonomo led a team comprising officers from the Zambia Police, the Zambia Army, and other security agencies.
The Zambia Army dispatched a specialized rescue unit from Ndola, equipped with diving gear and trained for operations in dangerous waters known to harbour crocodiles.
They constantly shot in the river to scare away crocodiles.After hours of searching, the commandos successfully located and retrieved the body, bringing closure to a tense and emotional scene that had drawn dozens of onlookers from nearby communities. Earlier, the local water utility shut down the plant to enable security personnel to retrieve the body.Mr. Ngonomo said the operations had affected water supply to half of Kitwe residents hence the speed to retrieve the body.
Kopala Lifestyle Magazine