Three people were killed by a freak wave at the Bay of Plenty beach in Durban on Saturday, 17 December. Image: Twitter/@njabulodlungele.
KZN Premier wants investigation into ‘freak wave’ tragedy that left three dead, 17 injured
KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube called for an urgent report about the freak wave tragedy. Three people died at the Bay of Plenty beach on Saturday.
Three people were killed by a freak wave at the Bay of Plenty beach in Durban on Saturday, 17 December. Image: Twitter/@njabulodlungele.
Three swimmers were killed by a freak wave at the Bay of Plenty beach in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, 17 December. The wave washed several people to sea and dozens of rescue swimmers were involved in helping them to safety.
READ: Three people, including teenager, drowned at Durban’s North beach
FREAK WAVE HITS DURBAN BEACH
The freak wave hit the Bay of Plenty beach at approximately 15:00. “There was a freak wave that washed some people to sea, three have drowned and 17 people have been taken to hospital,” said KZN EMS spokesperson Robert McKenzie.
The City of eThekwini said a teenager was one of the three people killed while 17 patients were transported to a hospital for medical treatment.
Approximately 35 lifeguards were involved in the mass rescue effort – more than 100 people were affected by the incident.
“We are devastated by this sad loss of life. We have asked for an urgent report from our disaster teams and eThekwini Municipality.
“The details of the incidents are still sketchy at this point, however, it is believed that a freak wave put many people into distress while swimming and they tragically drowned. Seventeen others are reported injured,” said the office of the KZN Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
Dube-Ncube called for a full investigation into the tragedy, including “fact-finding on all safety measures in this painful accident.”
The families of the victims will be offered support by the provincial and local government, according to the Premier.
Additional reporting by AFP.
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