Floods wreaked havoc in Centurion, south of Tshwane.
The City of Tshwane's emergency services responded to various incidents in flooded areas in Centurion and Irene, south of the capital.
Spokesperson Lindsay Zwelithini Mnguni said the first incident was reported to the emergency communication centre (ECC) before 10pm involving a vehicle sinking in Centurion.
"The ECC immediately dispatched firefighting resources from Centurion fire station to the scene. These included a fire engine and a district commander's unit. Other resources were dispatched from Central and Innesdale fire stations as backup," Mnguni said.
He said they also dispatched their swiftwater rescue unit, a video unit and an additional district commander's unit.
"On arrival, the firefighters found that a car was stuck in the river with two occupants," he said.
The occupants, who were unharmed, were successfully rescued from the vehicle.
The second incident on Friday night was at the Irene Country Estate where a vehicle was stuck in a river.
Mnguni said they found a vehicle with two occupants inside.
"They immediately rescued the patients who were also unharmed and had sustained no injuries," Mnguni said.
In other incidents, two drownings were reported near the Supersport Park Cricket Stadium in Centurion.
"The firefighters found that a car and a motorcycle had been swept away by the strong river currents.
"At the scene, there were rescuers from our fire and rescue operations division, together with the divers from the South African Police Service, and the Gauteng emergency medical services."
During a search and rescue operation, a female who had swum to safety on the riverbank was found.
"Sadly, the motorcyclist and the driver of the car were both found deceased and were recovered from the river by the rescuers," Mnguni said.
Just before midnight, a person clinging to a lamp pole engulfed by water overflowing from the river was rescued unharmed.
Source link