Body of drowning victim not yet recovered – Tourists saved from Omaruru flood

The search for the body of a 19 year-old pupil was still ongoing yesterday after he drowned in a feeder of the Omaruru River on Friday evening. Ronald Tjipundi was crossing the river together with a 17 year-old girl, when he was swept away by the strong current.
According to Deputy Commissioner Ottilie Kashuupulwa, regional crime investigations co-ordinator for Erongo, the incident occurred on Friday evening at about 23:00. According to her Tjipundi as well as the girl, both are learners of a school in the town, were crossing a feeder of the river on foot. They were on their way to town from the suburb Ozondje. While crossing the strong current Tjipundi was swept away, while the girl managed to grab a branch and hold on. She managed to get back safely to shore, but was limping. “She was taken to hospital and is fine,” Kashuupulwa said.
A team of divers were dispatched over the weekend, although they were not able to recover the body. Kashuupulwa said that reports of another drowning victim were not confirmed and seem to be misleading. Information received indicated that an old man who tried to rescue the victims was also swept away and drowned. “That is not true. We have no such information,” Kashuupulwa said.
In the meantime two Austrian tourists were saved from the raging Omaruru River on Saturday afternoon by the police helicopter, after they were surprised by the water mass. According to Kashuupulwa the tourists got stuck in the river close to Nai-Nais. “The car was swept away. The tourists managed to get out of the vehicle and climb up a tree in the middle of the river,” she said.
The exact time of the incident is not known, the tourists only remember it being dark already. “The regional commander of Erongo requested the inspector general Sebastian Ndeitunga to send the police helicopter