A 24-year-old mother, Matrida Mwale, has drowned in Msusu river after failing to rescue her six-year-old daughter, Grace Mbewe who drowned in the same river while she was playing with her friends on at Emfeni, Perete village in the district.

According to Jenda Police Station spokesperson Sub Inspector Macfarlen Mseteka,Grace Mbewe, (now deceased), went to the river with her two friends for swimming.

“In the course of swimming, it is said Grace went to the deep side of the river and failed to swim back and she drowned. Her two friends run to the village and informed the mother who without hesitation rushed into the river in an attempt to rescue her daughter and she also drowned”

“The two bodies were both later retrieved by villagers and taken to Emfeni health centre where they were both pronounced dead on arrival. The matter was reported at Emfeni police who visited both the scene and the hospital. Postmortem conducted at the facility revealed that death was due suffocation secondary to drowning and no foul play suspected”Said Mseteka.

Meanwhile, Jenda Police Station has advised members of the community to avoid crossing and swimming in flooded rivers during rainy season. Further people are urged to use expert swimmers in rescuing drowning victims to avoid further accidents during rescue time.

Matrida Mwale and her daughter hailed from Perete Village, Traditional Authority Mabulabo in rescdistrict.

Source: 101 power Malawi