The SAPS at Musina have opened an inquest docket after a 54-year-old Zimbabwean man drowned on the South African side of the Limpopo River on Sunday afternoon.

According to the police statement, five men from a local farm were working on a water pipeline project, when one of them lost his balance and slipped into the river. His colleagues did not attempt to dive into the water to rescue him because the river was deep. Members of the emergency services were alerted about the incident and they soon rushed to the scene in a helicopter. The rescue attempt was suspended when it became too dark for the emergency services officials to continue with their work.

The spokesperson for the Musina police, Lt Peter Mudau, said that members of the K9 Search Risk team had searched for the drowned man on Monday morning and eventually found his body at around 12:30, some few metres away from where he had actually drowned.

"We advise our people to stay away from deep waters," Lt Mudau said. "Our area has experienced heavy rains, which filled most of our dams and rivers to capacity."