/ 8 December 2007

Heavy rains hit Gauteng, Free State

Heavy rain swept across Gauteng and the Free State on Saturday afternoon, turning roads into rivers.

The roof of the Dion store in Alberton caved in during heavy rain, said Netcare 911 spokesperson Mark Stokoe. Netcare had sent out response vehicles, but no injuries were reported so far.

A heavy downpour also flooded Kliprivier Drive in Turffontein, south of Johannesburg, said Johannesburg metro police.

Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said the road was blocked between Sophia Road and Southdale Drive. He advised motorists to use Booysens Road and Xavier Street instead.

In the Free State, a 10-year-old girl from Meloding, near Virginia, drowned when she was swept down a sewerage trench, provincial police said.

Sergeant Malebo Khosana said the child fell into the trench at noon on Saturday.

”People from the community tried to save the girl,” he said. However, he body was later found 2km away.

Khosana said she was on an errand for her parents — with two other children — at the time. Her foot slipped and she fell while trying to cross the trench.

Last week, the body of an 11-year-old girl was found in a water-filled trench near her home, also in Meloding.

Khosana said police were called to the scene by community members who were alerted by children playing near the ditch. — Sapa