One dead, three missing after taxi swept away by river in KZN

One person drowned and three others are missing after the taxi they were travelling in was swept away while the vehicle crossed a low-lying bridge in Weenen, KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday evening.

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Sipho Hlomuka, said a 40-year-old woman drowned and three others were still missing.

Thirteen passengers managed to get to safety.

Hlomuka said disaster management teams were working around the clock to locate the three missing people who are believed to be from one family.

“According to teams that responded to the incident, two teenagers — a male and a female — and an adult from the Mkhize household are unaccounted for and are believed to have been swept away by the raging waters.

“We are saddened by this latest incident. Our teams are working round the clock in conjunction with the police search and rescue teams to locate the missing.”

Hlomuka called for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident to determine whether there was any negligence on the part of the driver in crossing the flooded river.

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