Four missing after KZN flood
2012-12-11 14:29
Johannesburg - Four people, rather than seven, are
believed to be missing after being stranded on an island in the Umzinto River,
near Durban, by rising water, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said on
Tuesday.
NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon said that on Monday
evening an eyewitness reported that six children and an adult were on the
island.
However, on Tuesday, police told the NSRI four people
were believed to be on the island. It was not known if any were children. It
was believed that no one had officially been reported missing.
Because of severe weather conditions "it was
impossible to get there last night..." Lambinon said.
Police tried to reach the island by helicopter on Tuesday
morning, but the conditions remained "extremely difficult".
The NSRI had not been tasked with continuing the search
at this stage.
Heavy rains in the area caused the deaths of three
children when two shacks collapsed, eThekwini metro police said.
Two of the children died at Bayview informal settlement
and one in Clairmont.
Netcare911 spokesperson Chris Botha said that nine
homeless people were rescued from the flooded Umbilo River in Durban on Tuesday
morning.
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- SAPA