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Two young people were washed away during a cleansing ritual in the Klip River, near Olifantsvlei in Johannesburg.
Kabelo Mokoena/Gallo Images / Sowetan
- Two young people have presumably drowned during a cleansing ritual in Johannesburg.
- They were swept away in the Klip River on Saturday night.
- People have been urged to be cautious during cleansing rituals and baptisms.
Search and rescue teams have resumed their search for two young people, understood to be 18 and 21 years old, who were washed away during a cleansing ritual in the Klip River, near Olifantsvlei in Johannesburg, on Saturday night.
The teams have been searching since Saturday.
Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi urged residents to be cautious during cleansing rituals and baptisms to ensure they remain safe.
"We would like to urge our traditional healers, prophets [and] pastors to ensure safety while conducting these cleansing/baptism rituals so that we can prevent incidents like this one," he said.
He also urged residents to stay away from rivers after heavy rains.
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The drownings follow an incident in Johannesburg in December in which the bodies of 15 people were recovered after they were swept away in flash floods in the Jukskei River. The congregants had gathered for a baptism ceremony in Alexandra.
In an unrelated case earlier last week, a teenager, aged 18, went missing while trying to cross a river in Soweto on Tuesday. The river had been overflowing due to heavy rains. It appears the teen slipped and fell into the overflowing river on Tuesday.
His body was recovered the next day.
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