THE number of congregants who have drowned in the Jukskei River has risen to 14.
The Joburg Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and other rescue teams have been working tirelessly to retrieve the bodies that were swept away in the river on Saturday, 3 December.
EMS spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said the total number of bodies recovered by Sunday, 4 December, was 12, including two discovered on Saturday.
That makes a total of 14 bodies recovered in the drowning incident.
The search for the remaining three bodies is continuing today, (Monday, 5 December).
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This comes after a group of 33 churchgoers from a local church in Alexandra, north of Joburg, were swept off by flash floods during a storm while they were busy with a baptism ritual in the Jukskei River near Bramley on Saturday afternoon.
Among the victims were a three-month-old baby and a three-year-old child – both belonging to a mother, who survived. Her kids unfortunately didn’t.
Speaking to Daily Sun, Mulaudzi issued a warning to religious groups who do rituals in rivers to be cautious.
He said since this is a democratic country, the EMS cannot tell people how to do their religious activities but should always be careful when they do, to avoid such incidents from happening.
“This has been traumatic. I stood next to one of the bodies that was found. You can imagine how I felt when I saw it, but sadly this is our job, someone has to do it,” he said.
Mulaudzi said as the EMS, they have decided that they will need to intensify outreach programmes in the communities to teach people about the dangers of the rivers, especially during rainy seasons.
