A 16 year old boy has drowned and died in Dowa district while swimming with his friends in a dam.

Richard Kaponda, Dowa police spokesperson has identified the deceased as Chikaiko Jossam Kasinje who on Friday went to Kanyenje dam to swim with his friends near Kanyenje primary school in the district.

“The boys were swimming using banana stems. While enjoying the swim, the deceased lost balance and his stem overturned and he drowned.” Said Kaponda.

He continued to say, “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 since he had already breathed his last.”

Postmortem results from Chankhungu health facility indicated that the death was due to suffocation.

The deceased hailed from Sangu village in the area of Traditional Authority Chiwere in Dowa district.