Weather permitting, search to resume for victims of Jukskei River baptism tragedy
Image: ANTONIO MUCHAVE
The search for missing church members swept away by flood waters in the Jukskei River in Johannesburg on Saturday is expected to continue on Tuesday morning if the weather permits.
The death toll of people swept away during a baptism ceremony after a flash flood currently stands at 14, with the youngest victim being a three-month-old baby and the eldest a 60-year-old woman.
On Monday, the search had to be called off due to bad weather, including a hailstorm.
Spokesperson for Johannesburg's emergency services Robert Mulaudzi said three people were believed to still be missing, but the number could be higher.
“The problem is that there was no register on who attended the ceremony, so we don’t really have the exact number of people who were part of the ceremony,” Mulaudzi said.
He told TimesLIVE the search was expected to resume on Tuesday morning.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.