South Africa flood toll nears 400, rescuers widen search for missing
Police, army and volunteer rescuers on Friday widened the search for dozens still missing five days after the deadliest storm to strike South Africa’s coastal city of Durban in living memory as the death toll rose to nearly 400. The unprecedented floods, which affected nearly 41,000, left a trail of destruction and at least 395 people dead.
The regional head of the disaster managing ministry Sipho Hlomuka said in a statement, said the number of fatalities continues to increase with the latest figure standing at 395. With the government coordinating the search-and-rescue operation, the official number of people missing in KwaZulu-Natal province stood at 55. A fleet of cars and helicopters carrying police experts set out to comb through a valley in Marianhill suburb, west of Durban, to look for 12 people reported missing in the floods.
