Police search and rescue personnel were on Thursday afternoon searching for a little girl who is believed to have been swept away by a river in Tongaat, north of Durban.

Nkubonga Ngidi, aged about six or seven, was on her way home when she was swept away by the swollen river.

“She was crossing the river on her way to her house and fell over because it was overflowing,” said Dylan Meyerick from IPSS Medical Rescue.

By 3.50pm, there was no sign of the girl – but Paul Herbst, also of IPSS, said the search would continue depending on the weather and light.

According to an emergency worker on scene, a search and rescue boat was in the knee-deep water searching for the girl while members of the K9 dog unit were conducting a search behind the boat on foot.

“Hopefully the river doesn't go out to sea,” said the worker.

The stream, in the Maguveni area, runs between informal settlements and is overflowing because of the recent heavy rains.

Earlier, three people died in the Inanda area, north of Durban, as three different structures collapsed in heavy rain.