The body of a fourth minor was discovered at 2.21am on Tuesday morning [February 9], following the recovery of three other bodies in a pipeline under the N2 on Monday evening [February 8].
According to South African Police Services (SAPS) spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk, the children were allegedly playing on the sand dunes which caved in on them and trapped them underneath. The group of boys are believed to be around 10 to 13 years old.
Flying News Live claims a fifth boy who survived the ordeal said they had set up a small hut near the hole and then fell into the pit and sank into it.
Emergency services were on the scene on the N2 intersection at Borcherds Quarry from approximately 4pm on Monday afternoon after it emerged that there were children trapped in the pipeline that runs beneath the road.
According to Jermaine Carelse, City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson, an emergency call was received at 3.10pm on Monday and fire crews from Gugulethu and Mitchells Plain were dispatched to the scene. Metro EMS and technical rescue teams were also dispatched from Roeland Street.
An emergency road closure was put in place with immediate effect and barred vehicles from crossing the Borcherds Quarry Bridge as emergency teams had to begin digging up its embankment.
The bodies of two minors were recovered just after 6pm, and the third was found at 9.01pm on Monday evening.
An inquest docket has been opened.
Picture: Julian Jansen Journalist/Facebook