Monster wave tears dozens of bathers into the sea - several dead in South Africa
Created: 2022-12-20 04:50
By: Victoria Krumbeck
A giant wave tore away more than a hundred bathers on a beach in South Africa.
Several people died or had to be taken to the hospital.
Munich/Johannesburg/Durban - It sounds like a scary idea.
You lie on the beach and suddenly you are pulled into the sea by the masses of water.
On Saturday afternoon (December 17) such an accident happened in South Africa.
A "monster wave" caught dozens of people on the Bay of Plenty in the metropolis of Durban.
At least three bathers were killed, including a child.
Monster wave tears dozens of bathers into the sea - several dead
It was an unusually large wave that took more than a hundred people with it.
A total of 35 lifeguards and a medical team were involved in the rescue operation, as a spokeswoman for the South African government told dpa.
People swim at Durban Beach in South Africa.
© XINHUA/IMAGO
At least three people lost their lives in the accident.
A seven or eight-year-old child is said to be among the dead.
Another 17 people were taken to hospital with serious injuries, a spokesman for the emergency services in the province of KwaZulu-Natal told AFP.
They are said to be in a serious or critical condition, as reported by
Deutsche Welle
.
The emergency services fear that the number of victims could increase.
Disaster struck shortly after the beaches reopened
The beaches in Durban have only been open again for a few weeks.
The beaches were closed due to an increased occurrence of the pathogenic E.Coli bacterium.
The bacteria came from the city sewage system.
The sewage system was damaged by severe flooding in April.
More than 400 people lost their lives as a result of the water masses.
(vk/dpa/afp)
