Johannesburg – The search is on for 15 people who were swept away in what is suspected to be a church baptism or ritual along the Jukskei River on Saturday afternoon.
The City of Joburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) launched a search & rescue operation on Saturday afternoon for 15 people believed to have been swept away along the Jukskei River while conducting a church ritual or baptism.
“Last night (Saturday), people were conducting a church ritual or baptism when a storm came through and in the process (swept) about two people away and one person was rescued and received medical care and was transported to a medical facility,” EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi told Newzroom Afrika.
Mulaudzi added that the two were confirmed dead.
@CityofJoburgEMS briefing session before we start with the search of 15 Church members who are alleged to have been swept away during a Church ritual @CityofJoburgZA @CoJPublicSafety #JoburgBravest pic.twitter.com/wBU0AL1lra
— Cojems Spokesperson (@RobertMulaudzi) December 4, 2022
“It is believed there were about 33 congregants and some could have left when the storm was progressing. There are about 15 people unaccounted for ... we started conducting a search last night up until around 10 in the evening,” Mulaudzi said.
He said the search was halted because of poor visibility and rain. The search resumed on Sunday morning with the assistance of he SAPS, City of Joburg Department of Public Safety, Vision Tactical and SA Sea Rescue, among other units.
“We went through the Jukskei River, which cut across most parts of Bramley Park towards Alexandra. We don't know where the stream is going to take us. But we are hoping that we'll be able to cover most of the ground,” Mulaudzi said.
He added that the EMS hoped to get in touch with the local church pastor to help trace the congregants.
@CityofJoburgEMS @CityofJoburgZA @CoJPublicSafety Search for Alex missing 15 continues this morning along Juskei river stream alleged to have been swept away during a Church ritual.#JoburgBravest pic.twitter.com/X0Z1TOh2vj
— Cojems Spokesperson (@RobertMulaudzi) December 4, 2022
Mulaudzi said there was hope of finding the 15 missing alive in terms of the time frame.
“Most importantly for us is assisting the families who might be affected to find closure, and cautioning all our congregants out there since there's a lot of church rituals and baptism which might be conducted in this area,” the spokesperson said.
Mulaudzi urged people to exercise caution and they put in place safety measures.
“They can put a rope along the people who are being baptised to prevent incidents like this, as we know that during the summer, we might be responding to a number of incidents like this one,” he said.
@CityofJoburgEMS @CityofJoburgZA @CoJPublicSafety Search
— Cojems Spokesperson (@RobertMulaudzi) December 4, 2022
for Alex missing 15 continues this morning along the Juskei river stream 2 bodies recovered last night and one person was rescued recieved medical treatment on site later transported to the nearest health care facility. pic.twitter.com/375dlHPQgd
The Star