Bodies of two eThekwini employees recovered in Umdloti River

Bodies of two eThekwini employees recovered in Umdloti River Photo: RUSA

Bodies of two eThekwini employees recovered in Umdloti River

Search and Rescue teams have finally recovered the bodies of two eThekwini employees who have been missing since the recent KZN floods.

Bodies of two eThekwini employees recovered in Umdloti River

Bodies of two eThekwini employees recovered in Umdloti River Photo: RUSA

The bodies of two eThekwini employees who have been missing since the recent KZN floods have finally been recovered in the Umdloti River.

TWO BODIES WERE FOUND AFTER THEIR DISAPPEARANCE EARLIER

Municipal spokesperson Musa Mayisela said the bodies were recovered in Umdloti River, which is a considerable distance from where their car was retrieved.

The two men are believed to have been on duty over the weekend when they went missing. Their vehicle has been spotted in a river near Osindisweni.

“After their vehicle was spotted on Monday, search and rescue teams went into the water to investigate.

“Unfortunately, there were no occupants inside. The team then resolved to search around the vehicle. However, due to a strong water current that was posing a threat to the lives of the divers, the search operation had to be aborted.”

RESCUE EFFORTS YIELDED POSITIVE BUT SAD RESULTS

Mayisela said the teams embarked on an aerial search the next day with no success.

“Today, their efforts yielded positive but sad results.”

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EThekwini Mayor Councillor Mxolisi Kaunda thanked the search and rescue teams for their determination and for not giving up on the search.

Kaunda also sent his heartfelt condolences to the family of the two employees as well as to the family of an employee who was gunned down earlier this week in Folweni.

“The employee was on standby and using a municipal vehicle when the tragedy happened. It is not clear at this stage what was the motive behind his murder.”

The heavy rain in KZN over the past weekend caused roadways to wash away, mudslides, houses to collapse, and residents evacuated.

SEVERAL KZN RESIDENTS EVACUATED AND ROADWAYS WASHED AWAY

According to Medi Responses search and rescue unit, together with SAPS SAR, SAPS divers, and the NSRI, responded to several incidents on Saturday evening. 

“We were on the scene in the Desainager area, where a roadway has washed away, taking with it a vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was lucky to escape unharmed.” 

Furthermore, the Medi Response operations control center has received numerous calls for localized flooding, mainly in the Tongaat area. 

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