A mother and father lost their lives when a mudslide triggered by the recent heavy rains flowed into their home.
Image: ALS Paramedics
This week, three young children were left orphaned after their parents were killed when the walls of their home caved in, triggered by a mudslide after more than 24 hours of torrential rains.
After three hours of searching through rubble, using a TLB, emergency teams located the bodies.
"Using specialised equipment, the bodies were moved from the rubble. Unfortunately both parents had passed away due to their injuries," said ALS Paramedics spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson.
He said emergency services including the eThekwini Fire Department and South African Police Service (SAPS) Search and Rescue and Metro Police Search and Rescue, rushed to the scene just after 7am.
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Jamieson said teams had to navigate the treacherous muddy path to reach the wreckage.
"Upon arrival, they discovered the destruction caused by the landslide, which struck a home where a family of five had been. While the three children managed to escape, the mother and father were tragically trapped and later confirmed dead," Jamieson said.
The children were not physically harmed.
Jamieson said a short distance away, another body was pulled from the wreckage of a home that had also collapsed following a mudslide.
eThekwini Municipality confirmed that six people had been killed following the heavy rains.
She added that the City has activated its joint Disaster Management Operations Centre to coordinate its response to the impacts of the latest weather-related incident.
Meanwhile, as a safety precaution, several beaches have been temporarily closed until further notice. The muddy water and pollution streaming in from flooded estuaries has led to the temporary closure of the uMdloti Beach, Isiphingo Beach, Pipeline Beach, Toti Main Beach, Warner Beach, Winklespruit Beach and uMgababa Beach. These above beaches will be reopened as soon as conditions allow.
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