What was supposed to be a fun family day at Durban’s North beach turned sour after a little boy was swept away in a sudden large wave.
Durban beach tragedy takes three lives
The ten-year-old boy named Ayanda Nene is currently one of three people that didn’t survive the large wave at Durban’s North beach this Saturday. Nene had been on an annual trip to the beach when the incident took place.
His mother, Slindile Nene recounted her experience at the beach and the people she saw swept away in the tide in Durban. Slindile realized later that her son was among those swept away in the wave.
She shared, “I swam further into the sea, while Ayanda and others were [near the shore]. They were not swimming because they were afraid of the sea,”
Slindile added that Ayanda wasn’t in the sea at the time the tremendous wave hit the Durban beach on Saturday. She said, “They were just standing. They said the sand felt like it moved underneath their feet before the wave unexpectedly hit. I survived the wave that swept them under the water because I floated over it and managed to run [back to the shore],”
Injured and death toll remains the same
The mother of one noted that she only noticed her son had been swept away when she saw him with the paramedics. She noted that the paramedics did the best they could to bring her little boy back to life.
Noluhtando Langa, who came along to the beach with the Nene’s shared that her children were “traumatized and saddened by the death of their friend.”
The mother of three shared how her children have been coping after the tragic incident over the weekend.
“The older ones seem fine, except they are sad. But the 12-year-old boy is still traumatized. He had difficulty breathing when we got home from the beach. We didn’t know what was wrong. We called the ambulance, but it didn’t arrive. Luckily, he survived and is breathing fine now. However, he’s traumatized because he sleeps with the lights on now. I think he relives the ordeal if it’s dark,”
A police spokesperson shared with News24 that the death toll from Durban North still remains at three. However, around 17 people have been severely injured and taken to the hospital over the weekend.