A boy aged 15 and a man aged 35 died on Saturday after drowning in Lunyina River in Rumphi where they went to fish.

Deputy Police public relations officer for Rumphi Tupeliwe Kabwilo identified the two as 35-year-old Nathaniel Gondwe and 15-year-old Hotters Mhango.

Kabwilo narrated that on the fateful day, the two went fishing in the said river and after their mission as they were going back home, Mhango drowned as he was trying to cross.

Upon seeing that the boy was struggling, Gondwe jumped into the river again in attempt to rescue the boy but unfortunately he drowned too.

The matter was reported to Rumphi Police Station where officers immediately mounted a search alongside villagers and found the two dead bodies floating in the late hours of Sunday, April 19, 2020.

Postmortem conducted established that the two died of suffocation following drowning.

Meanwhile, police are advising people in the district never to cross swollen rivers to avoid similar incidents.

The deceased came from Kamatang’ombe Village and Zgawalawaka Village, both from Traditional Authority Chisovya in the District.