KZN dubbed the drowning capital of South Africa

The search for a missing Mandeni boy, who drowned in the Tugela River, reached day three yesterday with no signs of the boy’s body.

IPSS Medical Search and Rescue received a call after a 10-year-old boy went missing while swimming in the Tugela River in Mandeni north of Durban.

Units responded to the scene but, due to the level of the river, were unable to enter due to safety concerns. The banks and weir were checked but, unfortunately, there were no signs of the young boy.

Rescue teams resumed the search at first light every day since the incident. IPSS yesterday said the search was halted due to high water levels.

This drowning follows one where a nine-year-old from Ndwedwe, north of KZN, who was swimming with friends in the river, disappeared under the water last week.

In past weeks, KZN has experienced a spate of drowning incidents, most recently caused by rip currents and heavy rains.

In December, three people drowned and 17 others were seriously injured at the Durban beachfront, after they were pulled deeper into the sea by a rip current.

Also in December, a body was recovered while another was still missing in the Umlazi Dam, south of Durban.

In the Msunduzi Municipality, last week an eight-year-old from the Peace Valley area drowned while attempting to cross a low bridge.

The Witness recently reported that KZN was named the drowning capital of South Africa.

Recent statistics released by the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) reveal that KZN had the highest incidence of drowning compared with the other provinces, between 2016 and 2021.

NSRI said the second-highest number of drownings came from the Eastern Cape, followed by Gauteng, and the Western Cape.

The study also indicated that the zero-to-four-year age group has the highest prevalence of drowning among all age categories.