THREE youths that include two students at the Northern Technical College (Nortec) drowned at the dam at the Gomes Farm in Fatima area in Ndola on Saturday.
Gomes Haulage managing director Leroy Gomes confirmed the accident.
Nortec principal Francis Mulimbika also confirmed that two of the college students had lost their lives at the Gomes Farm dam.
According to an eye witness, the two students were among other students that had gone for a picnic at the Gomes Farm as part of a Church programme to celebrate Youth Day.
The Church had organised a picnic at the Gomes Farm for their youth and also invited the Nortec students.
The eye witness said the incident happened around 16:30 hours when the boat the two young men were in capsised.
After the boat capsised, the two tried to hold on to another boat that had two other occupants who tried to save the other two that were drowning.
However their boat also capsised and all the four struggled to swim but one managed while the other three drowned.
The three bodies were then retrieved from the bottom of the dam.
The college and student’s union authorities were notified in the evening and the fathers of the two young men have also been informed.
Both students were first year students, one from Chipata while the other was from Ndola.
The third was a member of the Church.
Mr Gomes said he had been informed that three youths died in the dam at the farm in the afternoon of Saturday.
The establishment did not have life savers manning the dam but had a notice warning anyone who wished to swim in the dam that they would do so at their own risk.
Copperbelt police chief Antoneil Mutentwa could not be recahed for a comment as his mobile phone remained unanswered by Press time.
In Livingstone, three bandits yesterday staged a broad day light robbery shooting and seriously wounding a police officer guarding Stero Bureau de Change at Falls Park shopping mall and got away with more than K9 million.
The trio pounced on the unsuspecting police officer two hours after the bureau opened its doors to the clients at 10:30 hours.
The bandits also got away with an undisclosed sum of United States dollars, an AK 47 assault rifle and several rounds of ammunition.
Southern Province police chief Lemmy Kajoba and the manager of the bureau de change who withheld his name confirmed the shooting and robbery in separate interviews yesterday.
“It is a serous issues and I can not just talk to you on phone just like that. Right now I am in the field following up on the matter,” Mr Kajoba said when contacted for a comment.
The manager said when the bandits entered the bureau, one of them armed with a pistol went straight to the police officer who was at that time seated on a stool and shot him on the right shoulder while the other one jumped over the counter and started ransacking the drawers.
The third bandits pointed a pistol at the manager and ordered him to open the safe where more than K9 million was kept.
And Livingstone General Hospital medical superintendent Namani Monze confirmed the police officer was admitted to the hospital.
“Yes I can confirm there was a police officer who was shot in the right shoulder and the bullet lodged in the lungs.
“His condition is stable and we are still working on resuscitating him,” he said.
If one says” white men can’t jump” it’s like all cool…..but when one says “black men can’t swim” it kind of becomes an issue 😮 I am black and I still feel there are a lot of basic stuff that we are yet to grasp 😮 just pure simple things in life can make a difference….. [-(
No 1 I agree with you. Swimming should be a basic skill.
# 1 u are right swimming should be taught
Its very sad that they died when they could have saved themselves if only………….
Thieves will never stop killing and stealing becoz more than 70% of the population is living in poverty and out of employment. In the 80ts and 90ts, jobs were there which could accommodate both skilled and non skilled labor unfortunately these days even some of those with degrees struggle to find jobs except lawyers, doctors, nurses and those that join the army. Only God know where we are heading to as a country.