KZN floods: Death toll rises a

KZN floods: Death toll rises again after one more body found

Authorities were alerted of the grim discovery by a man who was with his children when they saw a human hand protruding from the sand

KZN floods: Death toll rises a

A search and rescue team in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has found one more body believed to be that of a victim that was swept away in the recent floods, which means the death toll will likely increase.

Rescuers found the body in Molweni along the Umgeni River. According to various media reports, authorities were alerted of the grim discovery by a man who was with his children when they saw a human hand protruding from the sand.

For now, the number of those killed in the KZN floods stands at 435 but the recovery of the latest body is yet to be added to that count. In addition, well over 50 people remain unaccounted for.

YOU CAN ALSO READ: KZN floods: Nearly R2 billion NEEDED ‘to complete our work’ – Zikalala

KZN FLOODS: BODY REMOVED FROM THE SAND – REPORT

Not much is known about the body recovered on Monday, 25 April 2022, but News24 has reported that police spent the afternoon attempting to remove the body from the sand, where it had been trapped. The initial body count from the KZN floods had been 448, but Police Minister Bheki Cele revised that figure as they conducted autopsy reports, which found that 13 other people had died from other causes, including being shot at.

More than 17 000 households had been affected by the floods and 121 687 people were affected.

KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala announced that work on Residential Temporary Units for the victims had started already as construction workers are already on site in Ilembe District, Ugu and eThekwini.

“We finalizing the assessment of some sites in Durban in terms of their suitability for construction.We must hasten to point out that this is a moving target. We are updating this information as more information is collated through Operation Sukuma Sakhe structures and our Disaster Management centres,” he said.