The body of a 20-year-old male, suspected to be an illegal immigrant from Zimbabwe, was found floating in the Limpopo River, police have said.

The Musina SAPS spokeswoman, Const Deborah Bob, said the body was discovered by farm workers from Weltevrede farm on Friday, 15 February, at around 16:00. "The farm workers discovered the floating body and they subsequently retrieved it before making a report to the police," she said.

The body was taken to Musina Government mortuary for a post mortem and police are currently making efforts to locate the relatives of the deceased, who is still unknown.

Of late there has been an increase in the number of drowning incidents in Limpopo River, in which a majority of the victims are Zimbabweans who are trying to cross into South Africa illegally, using undesignated entry points along the crocodile-infested river. This is, however, despite the dangers of either drowning or being attacked by the reptiles.

Recently, another female Zimbabwean was also retrieved from the Limpopo River after drowning while trying to cross into the country.

A number of Zimbabweans are resorting to border jumping into South Africa in search of greener pastures as the economic situation in the neighboring country continues to deteriorate. Inflation is currently pegged at a record 66 000 %, the highest on earth with the unemployment rate also continuing to soar to unprecedented levels.