The family of three-month-old Sinenhlanhla Rengqe are praying for her retrieval as the baby remains the only missing person after the Jukskei River tragedy that claimed the lives of 15 people.
The death toll rose by one yesterday after the search led to the recovery a woman’s body at the Innisfree Park, Sandton, about 3km away from where the incident took place on Saturday.
Baby Sinenhlanhla is said to be the youngest to have been swept away, along with her three-year-old sister, Elihle and their grandmother. Her sister and grandmother’s bodies were identified on Monday.
Her mother Zikhona Rengqe, who survived the ordeal, said she had been having sleepless nights, praying for her daughter to be found, while grieving the loss of her mother and her three-year-old daughter.
“I pray day and night for her to be found. I will get peace if I can just see her,” the 24-year-old said.
“I am grieving my mother. We also don’t have a funeral cover and everything is on my shoulders. I am just so confused.”
She said she last saw her daughter wearing a grey vest with flowers on it before she handed her over to one of the congregants when the water started pushing them.
“I am left with a dress and hat that I took off before we got into the water. If they can just find her it won’t change what happened, but we will be able to put her to rest with my mother and her sister.”
Initially authorities had reported that they were searching for three more people, this, however, changed when a woman who had initially been reported missing by her family was positively identified among the 14 that were found and taken to the Hillbrow mortuary.
Johannesburg EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said their focus was now on searching for the infant.
“One of the three families that reported their loved one missing managed to find her among those who were previously recovered at the mortuary. Now that we have found one, we are only left with the three-month-old baby,” he said.
Day five of the search saw teams of aquatic rescuers searching through various streams in the Sunninghill and Sandton areas, while another team used drones and a helicopter to search other streams in surrounding areas.
“Tomorrow [today] morning we will resume the search for the baby. We are getting closer to giving all the families the closure that they need,” said Mulaudzi.
sibiyan@sowetan.co.za
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