Tragedy has struck Perete Village in Mzimba as a 24-year-old mother Matrida Mwale lost her life in an attempt to rescue her six-year-old daughter Grace Mbewe who drowned in Msusu River in the district.
The incident happened on Sunday when Mbewe, along with her two friends went to the river for a swim. “In the course of swimming, she went to the deep side of the river and failed to swim back, resulting in her tragic drowning,” said Macfarlane Mseteka, Public Relations Officer for Jenda Police Station.
Her two friends ran to the village and informed the mother who without hesitation rushed into the river to rescue her daughter but, she too succumbed to the river’s current, said Mseteka.
People in the village managed to retrieve both the mother and the daughter and they were quickly taken to Emfeni Health Centre but they were pronounced dead upon arrival. A postmortem conducted at the health facility confirmed that both deaths were a result of suffocation secondary to drowning, with no foul play suspected.
Meanwhile, Jenda Police Station advises members of the community to avoid crossing and swimming in flooded rivers during the rainy season. “We urge people to use expert swimmers in rescuing drowning victims to avoid further accidents during rescue operations,” said Mseteka.
Matrida Mwale and her daughter hailed from Perete Village, Traditional Authority Mabulabo in Mzimba district.
