Johannesburg Emergency Services (EMS) recovered the 15th person who was part of a group of congregants swept away during a baptism ceremony at the weekend, said spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi on Wednesday.
The woman was found under a bridge in Sandton near the M1 highway on Wednesday.
“Today we discovered a female adult and the other female who was reported missing was identified by her family at the mortuary, and now the three-month-old baby is the only one that is missing, so right now, we have 15 bodies recovered,” Mulaudzi said.
This brings the total number of bodies recovered from the Jukskei River drownings to 15 after another person was found on Wednesday.
The search and rescue team will resume the search for the missing three-month-old infant, who was unaccounted for, on Thursday.
“We hope that if luck is on our side, we will recover the baby and give the family closure,” Mulaudzi said.
He said the baby, believed to be dead, had at the time been with its three-year-old sibling and grandmother, whose bodies were both retrieved.
“The child is the third missing person from the same family.”
Teams have been scouring Joburg’s rivers in search of a group of congregants who were swept away by flash floods during a church baptism ceremony.
The search and recovery operation that entered its fifth day was called off at least twice following severe thunderstorms.
Mulaudzi said 33-year-old Thokozani Sibanda, whose family said her picture was not among those of the congregants shown at the mortuary, had also been found.
“They couldn’t find her at the mortuary, and they had gone to look at hospitals where they couldn’t find her. They returned to the mortuary and found her. This means the 15 people who were reported missing have been found, except for the three-month-old.
Meanwhile the search and recovery operation has again been called off as parts of Gauteng prepare for another lashing of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms.
Source: ENCA, Jacaranda FM, News24, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @DjStsoko