Rescue teams recover body of 21-year-old who drowned in KZN river

Search and Rescue teams have recovered the body of a 21-year-old man who drowned in the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal. Picture: IPSS Medical Rescue/Supplied

Search and Rescue teams have recovered the body of a 21-year-old man who drowned in the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal. Picture: IPSS Medical Rescue/Supplied

Published Sep 4, 2024

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KwaZulu-Natal Search and Rescue teams have recovered the body of a 21-year-old man who drowned in a river, at the weekend.

IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson, Samantha Meyrick, said on Sunday afternoon, emergency teams were alerted to reports of a possible drowning.

She said the man was attempting to cross the Tugela River when he disappeared under the water.

“On Sunday evening, teams from IPSS Search & Rescue, alongside Empangeni SAPS K9 Search & Rescue and KDM Water Safety responded to the area, and conducted a search of the section of the river where the man had last been seen. Unfortunately, due to fading light, the search was called off,” Meyrick said.

Teams resumed the search on Monday morning, along with watercrafts and drones.

The man's body was eventually recovered on Tuesday afternoon.

Search and Rescue teams have recovered the body of a 21-year-old man who drowned while trying to cross the Tugela River in KwaZulu-Natal. Picture: IPSS Medical Rescue/Supplied

Last month, rescue teams recovered a body of a man from the Tugela River mouth.

At the time, Meyrick said the man went missing from a raft while at the river mouth.

"PACSys drone pilot Elmar Vrey was called by IPSS Search and Rescue to assist in locating the man. Intel was provided and the search began with a heavy tide being pushed in. The body was discovered via drone, 100 metres from the mouth," Meyrick explained.

She said the deceased was then brought to shore by Mandeni lifeguards, under Vrey's guidance.

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