A 16-year-old boy has died after drowning in a well containing soil for moulding bricks in Mbayani township in Blantyre.

Blantyre Police Public Relations Officer, Sub-Inspector Augustus Nkhwazi identified the deceased as Patrick Buleya.

“The incident happened on Sunday April 1 during the afternoon hours when the deceased together with his friends were chased by the guards at a nearby shop suspecting them to be criminals,” he said.

Nkhwazi further said that the deceased failed to swim back to the surface after he fell into the well which was used for moulding bricks.

The body of the deceased was discovered floating in the well by people who were passing by in a semi decomposed state.

Kabula police visited the scene and took the body to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Mortuary pending post-mortem.

The deceased Patrick Buleya hailed from Jali village in Traditional Authority Mabuka in Mulanje district.