The body of a four- year-old child has been found in a pit latrine at a primary school in Vaalbank village near Glen Grey in the Eastern Cape.

The police say the child’s mother went to the school on Tuesday morning to ask about the little girl’s whereabouts as she did not return home on Monday afternoon.

The state of sanitation in SA rural schools in graphics:

Police spokesperson Majola Nkohli says an inquest has been opened after her body was discovered and recovered from the pit latrine.

“A preliminary investigation led to the recovery of the learner’s body in one of the school’s pit toilets. Members from SAPS Search and Rescue retrieved her body. Circumstances surrounding the incident are forming part of the investigation. Police have opened an inquest docket.”

In 2018, five-year-old Lumka Mketwa also died after falling into a school pit latrine in Mbizana.