The Nadi River in uMsinga, where six people who were travelling in a bakkie from work in Kranskop were swept away trying to cross a low-lying bridge during heavy flooding. Five bodies have been recovered while a search continues for the remaining missing person.
Image: KZN COGTA
Six workers tragically drowned in uMsinga last Thursday when floodwaters swept their bakkie away at the Nadi River in eMabovini. The workers had only been on their new jobs for a week when the tragedy occurred.
The heavy flooding had been predicted by weather forecasters, with warnings issued by various disaster management authorities.
According to Mandlenkosi Malinga, husband of 26-year-old Nokwazi MaNdlovu Malinga, the victims were travelling home from work in Kranskop when the accident happened. The bakkie, carrying ten people in total, attempted to cross a low-lying Imfenebude bridge over the river after seeing a smaller car pass without incident.
“He said that is when he took the decision to cross too, only for the water to gain momentum when they were halfway over the bridge. The bakkie was swept away and overturned,” Malinga explained.
The driver managed to grab the woman in the passenger seat and escape the water. Two other passengers reportedly jumped from the bakkie and survived, but six did not make it.
“It’s painful. When I heard what happened I travelled through the night to look for my wife along the riverbank. I saw a t-shirt she was wearing and I screamed, as I realised that I had lost her,” said Malinga. His wife’s body was recovered by rescue teams between eMabovini and Nkandla.
Search and Rescue Teams are continiuing with their efforts of trying to recovered one missing body from six people who drowned when their bakkie was swept away in the Nadi River in uMsinga while trying to cross the low-lyring Imfenebude bridge during floods on Thursday last week.
Image: KZN COGTA
KwaZulu-Natal’s Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) department confirmed that four bodies have been recovered, with search and rescue operations ongoing.
Thulasizwe Buthelezi, MEC of CoGTA, said, “On Friday the search and rescue team found two bodies of women. The first one was recovered in Nadi River in Msinga, and the second in Thukela River in Nkandla.”
He added that on Saturday, two more bodies were discovered in Thukela River: one female in an area under uMsinga Municipality and one male in Makhabeleni under uMvoti Municipality.
The victims were reportedly aged between 25 and 40. Buthelezi extended condolences to the families and thanked the search and rescue teams. On Sunday one more body was recovered in the Nhlonga village under the uMsinga Municipality, bringing the number of the recovered deceased to five.
“The department is continuously liaising with the family, and we are doing everything to locate the missing person,” he said.
Authorities have reiterated the dangers of crossing low-lying rivers during heavy rains, especially in flood-prone areas such as Msinga.