Search underway for woman after car plunges into Underberg dam

Emergency services are searching for a woman after her car plunged off a dam wall on Friday night at a lodge in Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal.

When paramedics arrived at around 10pm, they found the vehicle completely submerged.

According to Ryan McAlister, an Underberg Emergency Medical Services paramedic, the owner of the lodge said there were initially two people in the car.

“One occupant managed to escape. The gentleman walked approximately 2km to find help. Unfortunately, a female passenger was still in the vehicle,” said McAlister.

Due to bad weather and poor visibility, the search and rescue teams were unable to search for the woman on Friday night.

Underberg Emergency Medical Services said the search would begin first thing on Saturday morning.

ALSO READ: Woman dead as car found in Hartbeespoort Dam

According to a report in The Witness, the man in the car said the couple were about to book themselves into the lodge before their tyre burst and the car then veered off the dam wall.

The man claimed the dam wall was narrow and without barriers.

“The gentleman told us he over-corrected his car and the tyre burst causing the car to fall into the water,” said McAlister. 

Man’s body found in Hartbeespoort Dam

The incident in Underberg comes after the body of Robert Ganyani Bila was found in the Hartbeespoort Dam by police divers on Tuesday morning.

Bila was missing after plunging into the dam on Saturday.

His car was found partially submerged in dense water hyacinth on Saturday night.

The car was towed out of the dam, but no body was found. It was thought the man was ejected from his vehicle during the accident.

The NSRI’s Andrew Crewe told Kormorant the 36-year-old missing man’s wife was on the phone with him around 8pm on Saturday evening, but then lost contact.