Pastor Hangs On to Tree Branch to Escape as Water Carries Worshippers Away During Church Ceremony Near River
- Tragedy hit South Africa over the weekend as 14 church worshippers drowned in a River during a religious ceremony
- Eyewitnesses said the pastor escaped narrowly as he grabbed one tree branch that hangs over the rock around the river and held on to it
- Robert Mulaudzi, the spokesman for the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, confirmed the development.
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Johannesburg, South Africa - Not fewer than 14 people reportedly died in South Africa as a flash flood in a river swept away worshippers participating in a church ceremony.
According to BBC Pidgin, some of the over 30 congregants were on top of the rocks by the river on Saturday, December 3, when heavy water rushed through.
Source: Getty Images
Eyewitnesses said the pastor escaped as he grabbed one tree branch that hangs over the rock and held on to it.
Emergency agency speaks
Legit.ng gathers that rescuers recovered two bodies on Saturday and found 12 more people on Sunday, December 4.
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Robert Mulaudzi, the spokesman for the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, confirmed the development.
He said the authorities had warned people to be careful about holding ceremonies in or near the river which is notorious for flooding during South Africa's rainy season.
Survivor shares experience
Victor Ncube, one of the congregants who survived the incident, said he managed to pull five people out of the river.
He noted that water had carried others far too down the River for him to attempt to save them.
Tragedy as leading winners pastor slumps, dies in his office
In another report, Fred Attabo, the resident pastor of Living Faith Church, Lokongoma, Lokoja, who was in charge of Kogi, was recently confirmed dead.
A source who spoke with Daily Trust revealed that Pastor Attabo was found dead on a chair in his office on Friday, October 21. The source, a female, said the pastor was rushed to two hospitals in the state where all efforts to revive him and make him stable failed.
“We rushed him to Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja where He was declared dead and we still moved him to Kogi State Specialist Hospital where they tried all kinds of resuscitation to no avail. This is the first time we will lose a Pastor and a State Pastor for that matter in our station," she said.
Source: Legit.ng
