WUC Disaster: PHK joins search party

ISAIAH MOREWAGAE & MPHO TLALE
Staff Writers | Thursday August 9, 2012 00:00

 

Families of the three men who went missing while working at Gaborone Dam on Monday gathered at the scene in what could well have been a memorial service for their loved ones on site yesterday.

They were present as hopes of finding the employees of Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) faded on Day Three of the search.  Vice-President Ponatshego 'PHK' Kedikilwe joined the families to give them moral support as there was still no sign of the men or their speedboat. 

Kedikilwe assured them that everything was being done to find the missing men. As twilight approached, a relative of one of the missing men prayed and entreated God for the bodies of their loved ones to re-surface so they may find closure on the agony.

The probability of drowning took on a new likelihood as the families appealed to the authorities to intensify the search for their relatives' bodies that must be in the belly of Gaborone Dam. They called for a wider prayer cover across all churches and religions.

Asked by the VP how deep the dam is at the scene, WUC Chief Executive Officer, Godfrey Mudanga, said roughly 14 metres deep because the level is going down.  Kedikilwe's visit followed that of Permanent Secretary to the President, Eric Molale, who had been to the scene before.  At sunset, the search party, made up of people sourced from Botswana Defence Force, Botswana Police Service and WUC prepared for another long night by making fire and turning generators on.

Chronology of events1645: PHK arrives at the dam and heads to the scene.

1700: PHK addresses the families briefly. BDF scuba divers come out of the water and the police helicopter lands. PHK takes Mudanga aside for an update from the CEO.

1730: The search party returns to the water in a BDF boat.

1745: PHK makes his addresses the families again. The families and PHK establish solidarity in commiseration before the Vice-President leaves the scene.

1745: The BDF boat returns to anchor and the soldiers on shore.

1750: Mmegi team returns to office as the search for the missing men continues.