Members of the Public Urged To Be Cautious After Durban and Cape Town Drownings

• Lifesaving SA haswarned South Africans to exercise caution when swimming or relaxing at beaches after drownings took place recently
• The media director of Lifesaving SA, Dhaya Sewduth, said that there were some incidents around the country during the festive season
• Sewduth also said that lifeguards will be alert for the first weekend of 2026, and also discussed the challenges of a shortage of lifeguards during the festive season

For seven years, Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of Current Affairs, South Africa, covered a range of topics, including accidents, fires, outbreaks, nature, weather, and natural disaster-related incidents, at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

GAUTENG — Lifesaving SA has pleaded with members of the public to be careful when swimming and spending time at the beach. The organisation's media director, Dhaya Sewduth, also discussed challenges lifeguards faced during the festive season.

Sewduth spoke to Newzroom Afrika on 2 January 2026. Sewduth said lifeguards had their hands full on 1 January 2026. He said the weekend after 1 January is also expected to see increased activity on the beaches.

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Lifesaving SA discusses beachside safety

Sewduth said that lifeguards effected lots of rescues, although he did not specify the number of people who were rescued. He said, unfortunately, that there were some drownings recorded. One of these drowning incidents took place on Pennington Beach in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, where one person drowned on 1 January 2026.

Sewduth also commented on public concerns that there were not enough lifeguards on the beach, especially as footage of crowded beaches went viral. Sewduth explained that there is a distinction between professional lifeguards employed by the municipality and volunteer lifeguards who work with Lifesaving SA. He said that the professional lifeguards on the beach have on-duty hours. He said a lot of incidents happened when lifeguards are not on duty.

What happened at Pennington Beach?

Five people were swept out at the beach on New Year's Day. Emergency personnel rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call shortly after 6 pm. One body was recovered after an extensive search. However, the others who were swept away remain unaccounted for.

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Pennington Beach drownings leave one dead and three missing on KZN South Coast

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NRSI) warned on 28 December 2025 of a rise in drowning incidents involving children. NRSI spokesperson Andrew Ingram said parents and adults must monitor and supervise children when near water.

SANDF members drown in Mpumalanga

In a related article, Briefly News reported that two members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) drowned on 26 December 2025 in Komatipoort, Mpumalanga. The officers were crossing the Komati River while patrolling the border when the waters swept them away. The Komati River's banks overflooded after heavy rainfall hit the province.

Rescuers and authorities located the first body hours after it was reported missing. The second body was discovered two days later. The Minister of Defence, Angie Motshekga, visited the families of the two soldiers. She expressed heartache that the soldiers died and said that the government had offered them psychosocial support.

Source: Briefly News