Body of missing man recovered from Tugela River

Police dogs Ghost and Bandit were instrumental in finding the body.
The body of 21-year-old Phakamani Ngcobo was recovered from the Tugela River this afternoon.

Two police dogs, K9 Ghost (Durban Saps K9 Search and Rescue) and K9 Bandit (Empangeni Saps K9 Search and Rescue) had pointed out an area of the river to search earlier in the day.

“Saps divers entered the water and located and recovered the body of the missing man,” said Samantha Meyrick from IPSS Search and Rescue.

Search and rescue teams had been searching the Tugela River since Sunday afternoon.
According to IPSS Search and Rescue operations manager Phumlani Vezi, Ngcobo was spotted by residents of Doringkop attempting to cross the river at around 2pm on Sunday when he got into trouble.

“There wasn’t much the residents could do besides keeping an eye on him while waiting for emergency services to arrive. They have been very helpful since we began the search,” Vezi said.

Ngcobo is believed to have been trying to take a shortcut when he attempted to cross the river at a point not far from a nearby bridge.