The family of the drowned angler could not hide their excitement, which was mixed with sadness, at the sight of the body of their loved one.

The body of Mashudu Mandinda (25) had been lying submerged in the depths of the Nandoni Dam for three days.

Mandinda, of Tshilungoma, a rural village outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo, was fishing at the dam with a friend on Friday last week, when the boat he and his friend were using capsized. His friend managed to swim to safety, but he drowned.

Police divers tried unsuccessfully for three days, but could not locate his body. On the fourth day, a young man who has already assisted the community in retrieving four other bodies from the dam sprang into action and managed to retrieve the body.

The family, who had been overwhelmed with grief, forgot their sadness for a moment and rejoiced that the body had finally been found. Brave Naledzani Gwangwangwa (21) has become the talk of the village after he fearlessly dived into the unknown and located the body of the dead angler.

Gwangwangwa said he thought of the pain the family was going through when the body of their loved one could not be found. Three days had already passed without the body being found when the brave young man decided to help. On the fourth day, the young man went to the bereaved family and told them of his intention. The family was skeptical at first, as police had failed over the past three days, but the young man was determined to get the body.

He said he went to the dam at five in the morning. Without any boat, he ventured into the water and, within minutes, he had found the body.

He said the body was clinging to a shrub in the water and he loosened it.

Mmboni Mandinda, a sister of the drowned fisherman, said they had had sleepless nights, not knowing where the body of their brother was. “We were grieving the death of my brother, but we were more saddened that his body could not be found. We needed the body badly, so that we could give him a decent funeral,” she said.

She said he had had a premonition about his death. “Just three days before the incident, he asked my mother to have some photos taken with him, saying one never knew the day one would die. I now think he had a feeling that he was going to die,” she said.

Mmboni thanked Gwangwangwa, saying if it were not for him, they would have not had the chance to bury their brother. “We just wish government sees the good work he is doing and gives him a job,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Department of Water Affairs said they were going to take drastic measures to curb the spiraling number of deaths at the dam. The provincial chief director in the department, Mr Alison Matukane, said the department was concerned by the number of deaths at the dam. He said more than 20 people have already died at the dam.

He said the department had purchased boats that would be used to patrol the dam. “We are happy to announce that we have an offer from Swimming South Africa to train people to swim, but we are not encouraging people to swim where there are crocodiles. This goes to show how concerned we are as a department about the safety of our people,” he said.