Brothers feared drowned at Konawaruk

Police are investigating the suspected drowning of two West Ruimveldt brothers, who reportedly fell out of a boat in the Konawaruk River after a number of missiles were allegedly thrown at them.

Feared dead are miners Quacy Rover, 37, and Dwayne Thomas, 31, of Lot 56 West Ruimveldt.

Quacy Rover
Quacy Rover
Dwayne Thomas
Dwayne Thomas

Police said that according to their investigations, around 15:00 hrs on Tuesday, Rover and Thomas along with another male were using a boat about to cross the Konawaruk River unknown to the owner.

The owner saw them in the process and is alleged to have begun throwing missiles at them, the police said.

It was while after trying to evade the missiles that Rover and Thomas fell into the river and have not been seen since.

Meanwhile, the brother of the two men Sherwin Norton said that on Tuesday around 8.30 pm he received a call from an unknown woman who said that his two brothers had been involved in a boat accident and may have “drowned”.

Norton added that he later went to the East La Penitence Police Station and made a report based on unconfirmed information he received from different persons in the community.

He added that his brothers had left for the interior on April 3 along with seven other men and were scheduled to return in a matter of days because “nothing much was doing in the bush”.

Norton said that this was the first trip for his younger brother, Thomas.

Up to press time there were no reports of any bodies being retrieved.

The owner of the boat is in police custody assisting with the investigations.