Man spends night trapped in river

SIGANGENI – Zweli Dlamini (23) survived heavy floods last Saturday, as he attempted to cross a bridge linking his home and the main road from Sigangeni going to Motshane.

This incident happened last week Saturday while he was crossing the Little Usutu River on his way home.

He left his workplace in Pigg’s Peak and wanted to spend the night at home with his parents but that wish could not be realised. He found himself spending the night out in the cold and shivering because of the cold water.

Relating his ordeal last Friday, Dlamini said he was halfway into the bridge when a heavy tide came, threatening to wash him away. He said seeing that his life was in danger, he opted to stand still in the middle of the bridge.

"While waiting and thinking about the next move, I decided to take my cellular phone and call my father. Unfortunately, my father’s phone was off and I dialled my uncle’s. He advised me to go back and spend the night with relatives on the other side of the river.

"I could not go back because the floods were coming heavily and they were threatening to sweep me into the river. There were logs that were trapped under the bridge and I held firmly to the debris. There were times when it appeared the debris was going to be ripped off by the heavy floods, but I hung on to it for dear life," he said.

"In no time, my family came and they waited about 50 metres away; they could not get to where I was. They would call me now and again and whenever the phone light shone, they could tell that I was still alive. In order to protect the phone from getting wet, I kept it in my mouth. I would take it out when I wanted to make a call or whenever they were calling to give me a plan on how to beat the waves," he said.

Dlamini said the water was above his waist and any attempt to cross the flooded river was going to be the end of his life.

He spent more than five hours out in the cold and surprisingly, he held firmly to the items he was carrying.

Police PRO, Superintendent Wendy Hleta confirmed the incident that befell Dlamini.

"Yes it is true that there was a man who was assisted by our officials from the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) on Saturday. Information that we have is to the effect that the officers would call him now and then to check if he was still alive. It was after the water had subsided that our officers assisted him to across the river safely," said Hleta.

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