The eThekwini Municipality has reiterated that swimming at beaches can be a safe activity if the public follows safety guidelines.
The municipality said swimming is safe if the public follows safety guidelines such as swimming within designated areas, not swimming under the influence of alcohol and complying with instructions of lifeguards.
The message comes after a voice note made the rounds on social media telling people to stay away from Durban beaches.
The voice note claims that there were also drownings at Isipingo Beach following the drowning incident at North Beach.
The eThekwini Municipality has hit out at this spread of misinformation and denounced any fatalities at Isipingo Beach.
According to the municipality’s spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, there was no drowning reported at Isipingo beach this December.
“The beach is closed due to poor water quality so there is no swimming there. The public is warned to be wary of such false, anonymous and alarmist social media posts and fake news which are disseminated with intentions to cause panic,” Mayisela said.
On the December 17, three people, including a teenager, were swept off to sea by rip currents at Durban’s North beach.
More than 100 people were involved in this incident as a result of rip currents and according to the municipality, “rip currents are a fairly common phenomenon at sea”.
“It took a team of 35 lifeguards to execute a mass rescue effort and another team of paramedics to attend to the more than 100 people who were involved in the incident. Despite the best efforts of the emergency response team, three people lost their lives, with others transported to hospital,” the municipality said.
eThekwini Municipality has commended the bravery of lifeguards, paramedics and other emergency response personnel who attended to this unfortunate incident and reiterated its condolences to families who lost loved ones in the North Beach incident.