Middleburg – The Bodies of three women, who were swept away during a prayer session, have been retrieved from the Klein Olifants River in Mpumalanga.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane said tragedy struck on Sunday, 7 December 2025, while a group of women was participating in a prayer session along the riverbank.
The women were swept away by the rushing river.
Some of them desperately clung to trees and grass as the river flowed faster in the pouring rain.
A woman who had noticed the rising river and had fled to safety alerted the police to the women’s predicament.
“Three women were rescued by the police divers on the same day,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ndubane.
The others were not so lucky.
They could not be located overnight, and sadly, their bodies were recovered earlier today, Monday, 8 December 2025.
“Three bodies of women who were swept away by the rapidly flowing water were retrieved from the Klein Olifants River today,” the police spokesperson said.
“The other three women were rescued yesterday.”
Lieutenant Colonel Ndubane said an inquest docket has been registered.
She said the names of the three deceased women have been withheld until their next of kin have been advised of the tragedy.
The police spokesperson warned residents against performing rituals or conducting prayers near rivers or water streams.
