The family of 10 people who were washed away by floods at Umzinyathi, north of Durban says it is still searching for six people whose bodies have not yet been recovered. 43-year-old Slindile Mdlalose as well as her four children and five grandchildren were sleeping in the house when mudslides washed it away earlier this week.
A family member Thokozani Mdlalose says they want search and rescue teams to help them to find the missing bodies.
“All we want is search and rescue teams to help us. Already, we have admitted and made a conclusion that they are gone and there’s nothing we can do. We just need to find closure,” says Mdlalose.
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uMzinyathi community members who have taken the initiative to search for the missing bodies say they are in shock.
“We are mentally disturbed as we have been doing the work. We are not familiar with recovering bodies of people who were washed away. We call on the government to offer us counselling,” says Mboneni Dlamini.
Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal disaster management teams and community members from Tshelimnyama, west of Durban, are still searching for a nine-year-old girl.
She went missing on Tuesday morning after heavy rains swept her away from her home.
“We are expecting a visit here from the Premier of KZN Sihle Zikalala , King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini and Patrice Motsepe. They will be here to visit the families affected by the disaster but also to assess the damage and offer support to those affected by this incident. What we are seeing here is that one of the families that were affected are still in search of some of their missing relatives,” says Lennox Mabaso, Provincial government spokesperson.
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Sunshine residents in Mariannhill are desperately looking for the body of an 8 year old girl who went missing when floods swept her away on Monday night #KZNFlooding #DurbanFloods #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/TSWAKZu3QB
— MaMthiyane (@skhangiwem) April 16, 2022
Additional reporting: Sashin Naidoo
