By CHATULA KANGALI –
AN ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD boy of Chief Machiya’s area in Mpongwe District has died after being attacked by a crocodile on the Kafue River.
The boy identified as Boyd Musongwa was attacked on Monday around 18:00 hours when he went to fetch water for domestic use.
Area Councillor Boniface Chushi confirmed the death of the teenager in an interview yesterday.
He said the body of the boy was retrieved from the river by some villagers yesterday around 10:00 hours.
Mr Chushi, who is District Council chairperson, added that the river had continued to claim lives as it is the main source for domestic water due to shortage of boreholes in the area
“The Kafue River is heavily infested with crocodiles. We usually record an average of five deaths from crocodile attacks annually. The river here is the only source of water,” he said.
The local authority could not drill boreholes for the people in the area because the equipment used were too heavy for the pontoon, the only means of crossing the crocodile infested river.
The civic leader, however, appealed to Government and stakeholders to come on board in finding ways to resolve the problem.
