Body part belonging to one of the Pennington Beach victims found

• Authorities located a body part of one of the people who drowned at Pennington Beach on 3 January 2026
• The body part resurfaced days after a group of people drowned at the KwaZulu-Natal beach during the festive season
• As authorities continue to search for more bodies, the body part is said to belong to a young man, leaving families devastated

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.

PENNINGTON BEACH, KWAZULU-NATAL — Family members who joined authorities in searching for the bodies of those who drowned at Pennington Beach, KwaZulu-Natal, on 31 December 2025, were horrified when body parts washed ashore.

According to Newzroom Afrika, the search for the remaining bodies continued days after a group of people were swept away while swimming in the Indian Ocean. Some of the parts were stuck and washed out by the sea. One of the family members who continued to search alerted the team.

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Body parts found at Pennington Beach

The authorities were unable to identify the remains, and a DNA test will be taken to confirm the identity. Weather conditions had made it difficult to locate the remains. The remains were removed from the scene and the forensic team will be conducting tests to confirm the identity.

What happened at the beach?

Proofreading by Kelly Lippke, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News