21-year-old drowns in a beach in KZN

The young man was washed into the sea and caught in a rip current.

Beach goers and emergency service gather at beach to comfort the man whose friend had drowned.

Rescue services are searching for the body of a 21-year-old man who drowned at Salmon Bay beach in Ballito at about 10am this morning, the North Coast Courier reports.

KwaDukuza acting lifeguard supervisor Linda Hlophe said the man from KwaMashu had been standing in the shorebreak along with three others when he was washed into the sea and caught in a rip current.

“It was low tide at the time, but the rip current was strong. The victim’s friend said none of them knew how to swim. There were no signs of struggle, he just disappeared,” he said.

The victim’s friend told the lifeguards that he and his friend had been doing a delivery to Ballito.

Emergency services are searching for the body of the young man who drowned at Salmon Bay beach this morning.

“The place that they were going to deliver to in Ballito was closed. They met two girls, and the driver of the delivery van brought them all to the beach. All four had been playing in the water when the victim was washed into sea.”

Hlope warned that people should not swim in areas that have a ‘no bathing’ sign.

“Lifeguards are not stationed at this particular point because it is not meant for swimming. We do regularly patrol the beach and advise people to not swim,” said Hlophe.

READ MORE: