Emergency services have recovered the body of a man who plunged and drowned at a Durban beach last week.
On 10 January 2024, Sphamandla Mabaso from Pietermaritzburg went to the beach with his friends to have fun. As they hung out, he asked his buddies to record him on the adventure he was about to embark on.
He then jumped off the guardrails, plunging into the KZN waters. His friends thought he would be alright as he was a good swimmer.
However, owing to the overcast skies and winds at the beach, there were heavy currents in the water. Sphamandla tried to swim back to the shore, but the waves overpowered him.
His friends noticed how he was slowly drowning, and they started haplessly calling for help. They did not stop the camera from recording the whole incident. Their friend then vanished with the violent tempest of the beach.
Rescue operations came to the spot of the incident, and they spent days searching for Sphamandla’s body. His brother told Zimoja earlier this week that the family was in pain over the drowning:
“It was really painful to learn about the incident through social media. My brother was going through a lot. On the day of the incident, he had submitted his documents at the CCMA after he was fired from work last year. We have forgiven his friends as they came to share their side of the story with regard to my brother’s drowning.
“Siphamandla was a very good swimmer. Judging by the video, he jumped at the wrong place. He was supposed to relax and keep his cool; instead, he wanted to swim in that current. This is why he drowned.”
Rescue operations in Durban managed to locate and retrieve Sphamandla’s body from the waters.
Source iHarare
