At least fourteen people have been confirmed dead while others still missing in South Africa after a flash flood swept away members of a church congregation along the Jukskei River in Johannesburg, rescue officials say.
Robert Mulaudzi, spokesman for the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services said that a group of 33 worshippers had joined church rituals on the banks of the Jukskei river when the flooding struck on Saturday.
He said that an earlier toll of nine dead rose after the discovery of five more bodies, adding that he could not give a precise figure for the number still missing.
He further stated that the priest who was presiding over the rituals, including baptisms, survived.
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“Two people have swept away and confirmed dead” at the scene on Saturday, while 12 more bodies had since been found, he said.
Although rescue workers and firefighters are still searching for missing people, the emergency services indicated the chances of finding them alive were fading.
Mulaudzi.
said that People have free access to rivers and “practise their religion where they wish.
“But we must intensify our awareness campaigns to avoid such tragedies,” he said.
Story was adapted from TRT.
