Durban — Lifeguards and civilians will be recognised for their bravery and support during the April floods which battered parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
The torrential rains resulted in devastating flooding, death and destruction in KZN and the Durban area in April, and many heroes saved countless lives during the dangerous and chaotic times.
Lifesaving South Africa said it was appreciative and on Friday, August 19, will be recognising the lifesavers and civilians who actively took part in numerous rescues during the deadly floods which cost over 459 lives.
Lifesavers including Sihle Xaba, 45, and Clinton van der Merwe, 50, as part of the Metro Police Search and Rescue Unit, working with the Portnet helicopter team; along with Durban Pro’s Mthokozisi Cele, 29, Shane Govender, 43, Keown Delomoney, 24, Jayseelan Govender, 51, and Leonard Pillay, 67; Winklespruit Surf Lifesaving Club members Mark Barber, 58, John Willis, 60, Neville Hazell, 62, Cadien Button, 17, and Cruz Barber, 28, were involved, along with Luvo Tsarwa, 28, of Toti Surf Lifesaving Club and Sandiso Nala, 36, of Fast Track Surf Lifesaving Club rescued an untold number of persons stranded in the life-threatening waters.
Civilians involved in the rescues supported the lifeguards and metro rescuers with the rescues performed from personal boats and vehicles and included Mark Gounder, 44, Roy Ramnath, 67, Donald Naidoo, 45, Prian David, 43, Wayne Easton, 47, Muhammed Kajee, 30, Chad Holm, 51, Mahomed Aaroon, 54, Renesh Rajaswar, 37, Pieter Jacobs, 53, Manogaran Govender, 47, Deolan Govender, 17, Greg Taylor, 58 and councillor Andre Beetge, 55, of eManzimtoti.
Lifesaving KwaZulu-Natal members had based themselves at Virginia Airport on standby to assist with any search assignments in the weeks following the floods: Sifiso Ngcobo, 28, Nhlanhla Msani, 29, Nkosinolwazi Mbatha, 26, Keaton Riddle, 24, Armand de Koker, 26, Tim White, 50, and Troye Brown, 43. Others remained stationed at the Virginia Airport packing and loading the helicopters with relief packs, cooking and serving meals to the rescue personnel: Jay-Cee Thomson, 31; Carey White, 24, Kayla White, 16, Kyan White, 14, Keegan White, 11, Adrienne Brown, 43, Mikaila Brown, 16, Jacqui Brown, 14, and Lesley Lunn, 67.
The Durban Surf Lifesaving Club also opened its doors for rescue personnel to be accommodated.
Lifesaving South Africa said these actions were in keeping with the high ideals of rescue and service, which Lifesaving South Africa endeavours to promote and practise.
The KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has been to at least two provinces, Gauteng and Western Cape, to honour search-and-rescue teams that assisted during floods.
Meanwhile, police say 17 bodies remain unidentified following the floods that hit KZN, parts of the Eastern Cape and the North West four months ago.
This was revealed by acting head of the national Disaster Management Centre, Jurgens Dyssel, when he briefed the ad hoc joint committee on flood disaster relief and recovery on Friday.
There were 457 fatalities and 82 people reported missing in KZN during the floods. The Eastern Cape had seven reported fatalities, one person missing and three reported injuries.
Daily News