Six-year-old Tyler Cupido rescued

Six-year-old Tyler Cupido came close to drowning after being swept away by flood-waters while walking home from school in Parkwood on Wednesday, June 25.

- ROSHAN ABRAHAMS

He was pulled to safety by a quick-thinking neighbourhood watch member, Yaseerah Nelson.

Tyler’s school, Parkwood Primary, sent all the children home due to heavy rains.

Ms Nelson, a member of the Klip Neighbourhood Watch said it was around 11:20am when neighbours saw Tyler in Abdullah Moosa Walk, “who must have taken the narrow pathway that leads to the road."

Ms Nelson said: “Tyler didn’t realise the whole road was flooded. He slipped and fell in the water. The stream was too strong for his tiny body.”

Ms Nelson said, at first, those nearby thought he was playing in the water.

“For a moment, we thought he was swimming. But he couldn't swim,” she said, adding that the current was too strong.

"His backpack became soaked and heavy, and he was wearing a black plastic bag to try to stay dry. But he panicked - and when you panic, you get tired quickly.”

“You could see he was reaching out to us. When he fell on his back into the water, I realised he wasn’t swimming as he went under the water a few times.”