Mother, two children swept away in Naukluft flash flood

THE blessings of a bountiful rainy season turned into a tragedy for a Windhoek family in the Naukluft Mountains this weekend, when a flash flood swept away three members of the family.

A 38-year-old woman and her two children, aged 10 and 12, drowned when they were swept away by a flooding river on Saturday, a Police spokesperson, Chief Inspector Angula Amulungu, announced yesterday. The children’s father, aged 39, managed to swim to safety, he added.According to Thomas Skrywer, the manager of the Namibia Wildlife Resorts camp at Naukluft, the family had arrived at the camp from Windhoek on Saturday.They planned to spend the weekend there.Skrywer said the father of the two children told him that he had been at Naukluft in the past, and that he knew the area and water pools in the mountains well.Like other parts of Namibia, the Naukluft area has been receiving good rains since December, Skrywer remarked.The family spent the afternoon at one of the water-filled rock pools in a gorge about two kilometres from the camp’s office, Skrywer said.He said it was later reported to him that between 15h00 and 16h00 on Saturday, with the two children – both girls – swimming in the rock pool, their father heard a sound that he described as sounding like a helicopter flying overhead.While there were some clouds in the sky, it had not been raining in that area at the time.A few seconds after hearing that sound, a flash flood struck the family, sweeping all four of them away.Unknown to them, a heavy rain shower had fallen higher up in the mountain that afternoon, sending a lethal wall of water their way.Judging from driftwood and debris that remained behind in the ravine after the flood had flashed past, and from the swiftness of the event, it appears that a cloudburst may have taken place over the mountain, Skrywer said.He said the man, who managed to make it to safety out of the torrent, came looking for help at the camp office around 17h00.When camp staff started searching along the course of the Gorrorosib River, they found the bodies of the two children close to each other about 100 to 200 metres downstream from the rock pool.Their mother’s body was recovered about 1,5 km further downstream, Skrywer said.Amulungu asked that the names of the victims not be released yet, as all their relatives had not yet been informed of the incident.The children’s father, aged 39, managed to swim to safety, he added.According to Thomas Skrywer, the manager of the Namibia Wildlife Resorts camp at Naukluft, the family had arrived at the camp from Windhoek on Saturday.They planned to spend the weekend there.Skrywer said the father of the two children told him that he had been at Naukluft in the past, and that he knew the area and water pools in the mountains well.Like other parts of Namibia, the Naukluft area has been receiving good rains since December, Skrywer remarked.The family spent the afternoon at one of the water-filled rock pools in a gorge about two kilometres from the camp’s office, Skrywer said.He said it was later reported to him that between 15h00 and 16h00 on Saturday, with the two children – both girls – swimming in the rock pool, their father heard a sound that he described as sounding like a helicopter flying overhead.While there were some clouds in the sky, it had not been raining in that area at the time.A few seconds after hearing that sound, a flash flood struck the family, sweeping all four of them away.Unknown to them, a heavy rain shower had fallen higher up in the mountain that afternoon, sending a lethal wall of water their way.Judging from driftwood and debris that remained behind in the ravine after the flood had flashed past, and from the swiftness of the event, it appears that a cloudburst may have taken place over the mountain, Skrywer said.He said the man, who managed to make it to safety out of the torrent, came looking for help at the camp office around 17h00.When camp staff started searching along the course of the Gorrorosib River, they found the bodies of the two children close to each other about 100 to 200 metres downstream from the rock pool.Their mother’s body was recovered about 1,5 km further downstream, Skrywer said.Amulungu asked that the names of the victims not be released yet, as all their relatives had not yet been informed of the incident.