Three killed, 17 injured by freak wave at South African beach

JOHANNESBURG: Three swimmers died and 17 others were seriously injured on Saturday when a freak wave struck a popular beach in South Africa´s southeastern city of Durban, the emergency services said.

“There was a freak wave that washed some people to sea, three have drowned and 17 people have been taken to hospital,” Robert Mckenzie, spokesman of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial first responders services told AFP.

He said one of the dead was a child aged around seven or eight years old, while those injured are “in serious or critical condition”.

The incident occurred around 5pm (1500 GMT) at the Bay of Plenty, one of the popular beaches in South Africa´s third largest city.