Among the dead is a child
Three sunbathers died and 17 others were seriously injured when a wave hit a popular beach in the southeastern city of Durban, South Africa, emergency services said.
“There was an unusual wave that threw some people overboard, three people drowned and 17 people were taken to hospital,” Robert McKenzie, spokesman for emergency services in KwaZulu-Natal province, told AFP. .
He said one of the dead was a child of about seven or eight years old, and that the wounded were “in serious or critical condition”.
The incident occurred around 17:00 (15:00 GMT) at the Bay of Plenty, one of the famous beaches in South Africa’s third largest city.
Emergency services said they feared the death toll would rise after the “unusual” event.
Durban is gradually reopening its beaches after they were closed due to high levels of E.coli from the city’s sewage system, which was badly damaged in deadly floods earlier this year.
The worst floods in the city’s history killed more than 400 people in April.
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