Miracle escape after taxi swept into flooded Duzi River

Four people were lucky to escape when a taxi was swept into the flooded Duzi River on Wednesday following heavy rainfall in KwaZulu-Natal.

ER24 spokesman Ross Campbell said that the taxi was driving on Barnsley Road, in the Camps Drift area of Pietermaritzburg.

"Flash flooding from the heavy rain in the area meant the normally calm stream had burst over the top of the bridge, taking the taxi with it," he said.

"Luckily a series of concrete bollards caught the vehicle before it dropped further over into the deeper water."

Campbell said two men were able to climb to safety while the vehicle was up against the bollards. Two others - a man and a woman - were taken by the river.

"By the time ER24 were on the scene just before 6pm, [SAPS] search and rescue had managed to pull the two others from the reeds further down the river," he said.

All four were treated for minor cuts and abrasions. The woman, who had been in the water the longest, was suffering from mild hypothermia and had to be taken to hospital for further treatment.