A body of a schoolboy, who disappeared in water two days ago, has been found floating in a pond in Udhum Payam, Aweil West County, area police have said.
Mathiang Kuol Mathiang, 14, was a fourth grader at Panrak Primary School.
On Monday, police said he left home with his friends to play and practice swimming at a nearby pond.
However, his friends told the police that he “suddenly disappeared under the water”, prompting the teenagers to report the matter to the authorities.
The police and community members then quickly launched a search, which bore no fruits until Wednesday morning when the body resurfaced.
“We recovered the body from the pond and brought it home now. The nose was bleeding, and the rest of the body showed no signs of injuries,” Colonel Atak Kiir Wol, police inspector, describing it as “tragic”.
Incidents of missing children and drowning among teenagers have become common in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State in recent months.
In August, a child went missing and was later found dead in Lol Akuei residential area in Aweil East County.
On Monday this week, two children drowned in Kurcok village in Aweil Center County.
The police inspector added that the county government would hold talks with road construction companies to fence off the ponds in the area to prevent similar incidents.