An end of year party ended in tragedy after six people drowned when a leisure boat carrying 21 people sank at Barham Bay in Witbank on Friday, paramedics said.
“Bystanders, and witnesses to the incident, quickly entered the water and attempted to swim to the boat and help some of the injured to shore.
“Fifteen people were able to make it to shore, and had sustained only minor injuries,” ER24 spokesperson Vanessa Jackson said in a statement.
Paramedics discovered the bodies of two women on arrival, Jackson said.
Police divers later brought the bodies of three more people to the surface.
Divers were in the process of retrieving the last body from the sunken boat.
It is unknown what caused the boat to sink, Jackson said.
– News24