KZN Floods | Search Continues for Missing Victims

2-minute read
27 December 2023 | 21:46 CAT

Man and child drown in Mandeni, search for 11 missing in Ladysmith continues. Picture: KZN government/X

Rescue teams battled in torrential rain on Tuesday to find victims of flash floods across KwaZulu-Natal that left at least seven dead and 11 missing, officials said.

A muddy deluge up to 10 metres (33 feet) deep swept through a district of Ladysmith in KwaZulu Natal, destroying homes and carrying away cars, rescuers said.

Further south, an overflowing river at Mandeni carried away three people. One eight-year-old boy was confirmed dead, and one man was missing, the IPSS rescue organisation said.

Rainstorms held up the search for bodies in Ladysmith, 230 kilometres (140 miles) northwest of Durban, where the torrent hit late Sunday.

Tereza van den Berg, a team leader for IPSS, said that the torrent “in places 10 metres deep” tore through a caravan park and carried away vehicles crossing a bridge.

“Nobody had a chance to grab anything,” she said. Some of the cars were found three kilometres downstream.

Three bodies were found in a minibus carrying nine passengers. The other six are still missing.

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dube-Ncube sent her condolences to the families of those killed in the floods in a statement on social media.

She said the heavy rains “resulted in the Bellspuit river, which runs under the Mbonothu bridge, bursting its banks, causing water to overflow onto the N11 road near the Limit Hill robots, in Ladysmith Town.”

The ongoing search has sparked a mix of desperation and hope among citizens.

Listen to the full interview on Your World Today with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie.

Alternative Mining Indaba 2026

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 19 February 2026 1-minute read The Alternative Mining Indaba which concluded in Cape Town brought together an array of people under the theme: Alternative Stories of Mining, united in solidarity with the mining communities...

SANDF deployment to Cape Flats, parts of Gauteng sparks debate over long-term solutions

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 4-minute read 16 February 2026 President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to deploy the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to combat gang violence on the Cape Flats and in parts of Gauteng has been met with mixed reactions,...

ASRI Report: Key SONA 2026 Takeaways on Water, Crime and District Six

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 4-minute read 13 February 2026 President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) has placed renewed attention on some of South Africa’s most urgent crises — from water insecurity and violent crime, to the fragile...

SONA 2026: Calls for Action on Frontline Public Services

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 11 February 2026 As South Africa prepares for the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), renewed calls are being made for the government to prioritise the rebuilding of frontline public services, which analysts...

ActionSA’s Proposal For Immigrants

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 17 February 2026 2-minute read On the revised ‘White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection’ published last year, Actions SA has proposed for only 10 thousand applications for asylum seekers to be considered...

What DA Premier Expects From SONA

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 12 February 2026 2-minute read With 345 murders in the Western Cape this January, DA Premier Allen Winde states that his expectations from SONA this year are levelled towards crime. The party has been calling for a long time...