Jukskei River drownings: Search continues for missing three-month-old baby

The search for missing bodies entered day 6 on Thursday, after the Johannesburg Emergency Services confirmed a three-month-old baby is still missing.

According to Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi, the baby was one of three family members who were part of the group that went missing during a baptism ceremony at the Jukskei River on Saturday.

The bodies of the other two family members have since been recovered.

Jukskei River: 15 bodies recovered

On Wednesday, the body of an older woman was recovered, bringing the total number of bodies recovered to 15. The Johannesburg Emergency Management Services is not ruling out the possibility of more missing people, apart from the baby.

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“The initial list consisted of 15 missing people, but if you count the number of people we have recovered, it’s 15 bodies and two who survived, so we are already looking at 17 people. It means that 15 was not the exact number of people who were there.

“With the outstanding baby, we’re not ruling out that there might be other bodies, but we’re focusing on the information we got from the affected families saying they had three members at the ritual – the three month old baby and the other two who have been recovered. The search for the missing infant continues,” Mulaudzi told Newzroom Afrika.

Multidisciplinary operation

Mulaudzi told The Citizen on Sunday that police’s water wing, K9 and rescue units were at the scene of the tragedy, as well as the National Sea Rescue Institute, Gauteng emergency services and the City’s aquatic rescue team.

The incident took place just after the Corlett Drive off-ramp in Bramley Park, Sandton.

Prophet disappears

He said approximately 33 people from a church in Alexandra were attending a baptism ritual along the stream when a storm caused water levels to rise suddenly.

Meanwhile, the church leader who was conducting the baptism has reportedly gone missing.

Kind Kupe, a Zimbabwean national also known as Mvundla, was reportedly last seen in Alexandra on Saturday, The Sowetan reported.

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Kupe’s wife told the publication she last saw her husband on Saturday, when he left with his “clients”.

Additional reporting by Nica Richards