A holiday routine every year has been ruined as a mother lost her son to the waves at the beach this past weekend. The mother is still in shock and can not accept that her son is gone.
Ayanda Nene, from Hammersdale, was attending an annual beach day trip when tragedy struck on Durban’s North Beach, according to News 24.
In a statement, eThekwini Municipality said a total of three people drowned on December 17, after being swept out to sea by rip currents.
Attending to the people during this disaster as the eThikwini Municipality stated that it took a team of 35 lifeguards to execute a mass rescue and another team of paramedics to meet the required needs of more than 100 people who were involved in the incident.
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“Despite the best efforts of the emergency response team, three people lost their lives, with others transported to the hospital.”
“I was in the water when the freak wave struck, my son was afraid of the sea so he was standing near the shoreline”, She told the media.
She came to the realization that her son was in trouble as she saw him on the stretcher, with paramedics trying to resuscitate him.
Nene said paramedics spent almost two hours trying to revive her son whom she described as bubbly.
She told the Media that she believed Ayanda was alive when they rescued him from the water.
On Tuesday, eThekwini Municipality said it was aware of an alarmist voice note about drownings at the South and Isipingo beaches.
“The voice note calls on the public to avoid beaches because of these incidents.”
The municipality said the only drownings took place at North Beach and nothing at Isipingo Beach.
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“Isipingo beach is closed due to poor water quality so there is no swimming there.”
The city cautioned the public to be wary of alarmist social media posts and fake news which are disseminated with the intention to cause panic.
“Swimming at beaches can be a safe activity if the public follows safety guidelines such as swimming within designated areas, not swimming under the influence of alcohol, and complying with instructions of lifeguards.
“The municipality re-iterates its condolences to families who lost loved ones in the North Beach incident. It also commends the bravery of lifeguards, paramedics and other emergency response personnel who attended to this unfortunate incident.”