An eyewitness to the flood said that some of the 30-plus congregants were standing on rocks in the river on Saturday when a torrent of water surged through.
In South Africa, nine people were killed and eight others were missing after a flash flood in a river swept away worshippers attending a church ceremony.
An eyewitness said that some of the more than 30 congregants were standing on rocks in the river on Saturday when a torrent of water rushed through.
According to the witness, the pastor was saved after clinging to an overhanging tree branch while being carried away.
On Sunday, rescuers resumed their search in Johannesburg’s Jukskei River. During South Africa’s rainy season, it is notorious for flooding.
The search operation involves the police and fire service as well as specialist aquatic rescue teams.
After recovering two bodies on Saturday they have so far found seven more on Sunday, Robert Mulaudzi, spokesman for the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services, told reporters.
Victor Ncube, who had been taking part in the church service, told the local news station eNCA that he managed to pull five people out of the river who had been swept 100 metres downstream.
Others had been carried too far down the river for him to try to save them, he said.
Of the 33 who had been at the service, eight are still unaccounted for, officials say.