PORT ELIZABETH - 21 MONTH OLD BABY GIRL DROWNS AFTER FALLING INTO RAIN-FILLED DITCH IN BETHELSDORP

Bethelsdorp police have opened an inquest docket following the death of a 21 month-old baby girl from suspected drowning at the Vastrap informal settlement in Bethelsdorp, Port Elizabeth.

Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg says the parents arrived with the child at Nelson Mandela Bay's Dora Nginza hospital on Friday afternoon.

Hospital staff declared the little girl dead on the scene.

While a post-mortem still needs to be conducted, preliminary investigations indicated that she had died from drowning.

It appears that the child drowned earlier in the day on Friday when she fell into a rain-filled ditch at a construction site in Vastrap.

Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Mangomeli Bobani and a delegation from his office visited the child's family on Monday morning to offer their condolences.

Mayoral Spokesperson George Geleba says the Mayor and the contractor working on the site have offered the family their full support.

"Unfortunately it was one of our contractors who is working in the area," said Geleba. "The Mayor and the  contractor have fully committed themselves to assist with all the funeral arrangements. It is a very sad day for all concerned and particularly as it falls over Easter. The Mayor has offered the family his deepest condolences."

via - ALGOAFM