KZN Man Hailed for Rescuing 17 Schoolchildren After Taxi Driver Tried To Cross Flooded Empangeni River Bridge

• A man became a local hero after going to the rescue of 17 schoolchildren who were stuck in the middle of a flooded river in KZN
• According to eyewitnesses, the driver of the taxi attempted to cross the low-lying Empangeni river
• Fortunately, all 17 children from different schools and the taxi driver were brought to safety

KWAZULU NATAL - Social media was full of praise for a KwaZulu Natal man who sprung into action to save 17 children and a taxi driver from drowning on Friday 3 February.

The taxi driver ignored all the safety precautions and attempted to cross the flooded bridge despite other motorists avoiding the bridge.

According to SowetanLIVE, Thokozani Mkhwanazi from the Ndabayakhe area of Empangeni said he was at home when he saw the taxi driver trying to cross the Empangeni River. Mkhwanazi said he thought the driver would turn back when he saw the river was flooded, but he proceeded.

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He added that the taxi began drifting when it was in the middle of the bridge. Schoolchildren started shouting for help because the door wouldn't open because the water was pushing against it. He said:

"I thought he was going to turn, but he kept going. When he was in the middle of the river, the car stopped and started drifting. I ran down the hill to the river along with other residents. When I got there, the children were screaming and crying, and they couldn't open the door because the water was blocking it. There were other children on the roof screaming for help."

Twitter users hailed the community hero for springing into action to help the children. One wrote:

"One just does not risk a child's life like that. Glad they all survived and hope they get the love and support to deal with the shock. Poor kids."

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Heroic teacher fatally shoots knife-wielding man who allegedly attempted to stab principal at Kagiso School

In more news, Briefly News reported that the teachers and pupils from Kagiso Secondary School encountered a harrowing ordeal when a teacher was forced to shoot an armed man who was allegedly attempting to stab the principal.

The man allegedly forced his way onto school grounds demanding to see the principal on Friday, 3 February. The knife-wielding man found a group of teachers in a meeting in the staff room and allegedly held them hostage.

According to Police Spokesperson Col Dimakatso Sello that a preliminary report indicates that one of the teachers managed to escape and fire a warning shot.

Source: Briefly News