Due to the continued heavy rain in Gauteng, Johannesburg’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has paused its search for the three-month-old baby who was swept away by flash floods at Jukskei River.
On Monday, City of Joburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson, Xolile Khumalo, said they can only confirm on Tuesday whether the search will continue.
Khumalo added that the search has now reached Katherine and Grayston Road in Sandton.
It has been more than a week since the tragedy at the Jukskei River in Alexandra when congregants, who had gathered for a baptism ceremony on 3 December, were washed away.
Fifteen bodies have been recovered since the incident. The names of the deceased have yet to be released.
The pastor has since fled over concerns for his safety and the body of the three-month-old baby is still missing. Rescue workers have been working around the clock to try locate the missing.
On Monday, the South African Weather Service warned of heavy rain that was expected to wreak havoc in Gauteng and other parts of the country.
Forecaster Lulama Pheme said the expected rain would persist throughout Monday with possible damage to infrastructure, properties and vehicles, and road flooding, including low lying bridges.
Speaking to SABC, City of Johannesburg’s MMC for Community Safety, David Tembe, said they are concerned about the conditions in which the search teams are working.
“The challenge is there are a lot of things and that might cause our officers to seek treatment after that. And we can see that the water there is not clean. We have got dead dogs and other people use the river for dumping.
“But our officers are doing all their best to ensure that the family can get closure,” he told the broadcaster.
Source: News24, IOL, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @CliffShiko