Bodies of three boys discovered at Jukskei River in Johannesburg

City of Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi said it is alleged that they were playing next to the river stream.

“When the other friends noticed that the three boys were struggling to swim, they ran to the nearest police station to report the matter.

“Police activated us together with the SAPS water wing. We managed to recover the three bodies which were confirmed dead on scene.”

Robert Mulaudzi

Mulaudzi said they are concerned that most river streams in Johannesburg are full due to the heavy rainfall over the Easter weekend.

“Children are tempted to play next to river streams, we urge parents and adults to monitor them. They should stay away from the streams so that we can prevent more drowning incidents like this one,” he said.

It hasn’t been confirmed whether the boys are related or not.

ALSO READ: KZN floods: Body of infant washed up on Isipingo Beach (watch)

The Gauteng province was rocked by heavy downpours this past weekend.

Initially, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) had issued a Yellow level 2 warning, this was then upgraded to Yellow level 4.

SAWS had also warned of poor driving visibility and pooling of water on major roads.

The weather service said there was “some uncertainty” in the forecast. In particular, the amount of rainfall, which meant that things were even worse than expected.