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Durban beachfront
The joyous New Year celebrations on KwaZulu-Natal’s beaches have been marred by a series of drowning incidents.
National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson Craig Lambinon says eight people are still missing in the ocean, while four drownings were confirmed in separate incidents since the 1st of January.
The number of missing bathers from a mass drowning incident at Pennington on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast has increased to 3. NSRI spokesperson – Craig Lambinon – says more information became available after an extensive search by their volunteers#MorningLive #SABCNews
— SABCNews_MorningLive (@MorningLiveSABC) January 3, 2026
He says in one of the more serious incidents a group of young people were caught in rip currents while swimming at Pennington Main beach on New Year’s Day, which claimed the lives of three of the swimmers.
“The search continues for three others from the group. Meanwhile search and rescue teams have also resumed searches for a 33-year-old swimmer who’ve gone missing at Hibberdene, and for a 40-year-old Mpumalanga man who’ve disappeared in the surf at Thompsons Beach at Ballito.”
VIDEO | Update on beach tragedies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdpQQDTMJBU
