By Abigail Visagie 

The search for Benjamin van Wyk’s(20) body, who drowned inside the Heidedal Quarry located behind Twin City Mall in Bloemfontein, is now in its third day.

On Thursday afternoon, Van Wyk (20) and two friends went swimming when tragedy struck.

He reportedly jumped into the water but was quickly overwhelmed and tragically drowned.

The Heidedal South African Police Services (SAPS) was immediately alerted and called to the scene, following an investigation conducted by the Bloemfontein Diving Unit.

Police Spokesperson Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli confirmed that an intensive search commenced around the area where the victim was last seen, but had to be called off late in the evening due to poor light conditions.

The search will continue tomorrow..

Kareli says the Welkom Diving Unit was brought in to assist the operation on the second search day. However, due to the quarry's 50-meter depth, it was then determined that the body may have been carried by currents or rolled to a deeper section of the quarry.

“Divers are only permitted by law to go as deep as 30 meters; after that, machinery has to be procured from the private sector to assist with the retrieval of the corpse,” said Kareli.

“SAPS is working in close collaboration with the private sector and emergency services and utilising all available resources and pulling out all stops in an effort to locate and recover the body of the deceased,” said Kareli.

Kareli urged the community to refrain from swimming at the quarry.