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30 January 2026
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Rescue team’s main goal is to give victims’ families closure – technician
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For the men and women of the City of Ekurhuleni’s Aquatic Rescue Team, the mission to flood-ravaged Vhembe in Limpopo was not only about technical skill and bravery — it was about giving grieving families closure. This is the one thing many of them desperately sought when recent rains caused havoc, killing dozens of people in both Limpopo and Mpumalanga.
Two of the rescuers who were deployed as part of the Gauteng Provincial Disaster Management Centre teams described a harrowing operation in treacherous, crocodile and hippo-infested waters, where extreme heat, fast-flowing currents and emotional community pressure tested their endurance and resolve.
Zenzeleni Busisiwe Ribane, a firefighter with 14 years’ experience and a rescue technician for five years, said the mission was one of the most dangerous deployments of her career. “We were surrounded by crocodiles and snakes. There was a moment in the boat when a spider as big as my hand climbed in, and I had to remove it myself,” Ribane recalled.
“But the biggest challenge was the water. The current was so strong that one mistake against a rock could capsize the boat and throw you into dirty water full of crocodiles.”
Ribane said the team’s primary purpose went beyond recovery operations. “Our main job is to give families closure. The most painful part of this work is when you can’t give that to them, when you can’t recover a body or even remains,” she said.
At Tswinga village outside Thohoyandou, the rescuers were tasked with searching the Dzindi River, a crossing known to be infested with crocodiles and hippos.
Ribane was assigned as a swift water technician, spending five days inside the river during search operations. “We worked closely with SAPS water wing units. When crocodiles came too close, they used special sound devices like a controlled blast to scare them away without hurting them. Sometimes the crocodiles would get angry and stare at us before swimming off,” she said.
Despite the danger, the team pressed on.
Their search led to the recovery of a Toyota Hilux single cab vehicle that had been swept away by floodwaters. It was believed to have had two male Ethiopian occupants — a driver and a passenger — at the time of the incident. Their bodies are yet to be found.
Simphiwe Dube, who has been part of Rescue SA’s national team since 2019 and served as a deputy team leader on the mission, said safety and coordination were critical. “We worked under the command of SAPS. Divers checked inside the vehicle while we supported them from inflatable boats. We always moved as a group. No one went into the water alone,” Dube said.
“There were seven boats in the water at one point, with ambulance personnel on standby.”
Dube said it weighed on her emotionally to work alongside anxious families who gathered near the riverbanks waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones. “They wanted to come closer when we found the car. They wanted to see for themselves. It was difficult because we had to balance their pain with safety and the rules of the operation,” he said.
For Ribane, the mission was also deeply personal. A mother of four she said her family’s safety was constantly on her mind.
“I kept praying. I would ask God to look after my children while I was out there. We worked eight hours a day in the river and only later would I see missed calls from my husband checking if I was still okay,” she said.
The Gauteng team, registered under the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), returned home on Tuesday, leaving ongoing searches and investigations in the hands of SAPS and local disaster management authorities.
Back in Ekurhuleni, the team received a warm welcome from acting divisional head, Lifty Ngoepe and senior district manager and SAESI president, Theresa Geldenhuys.
For the rescuers, however, the mission’s emotional impact lingers.
“There is nothing more than finding a loved one and bringing them back to their family,” Dube said. “Even when we leave, we know the work is not finished. We just hope that one day, those families will get the closure they deserve.”
Source: The Sowetan
Two of the rescuers who were deployed as part of the Gauteng Provincial Disaster Management Centre teams described a harrowing operation in treacherous, crocodile and hippo-infested waters, where extreme heat, fast-flowing currents and emotional community pressure tested their endurance and resolve.
Zenzeleni Busisiwe Ribane, a firefighter with 14 years’ experience and a rescue technician for five years, said the mission was one of the most dangerous deployments of her career. “We were surrounded by crocodiles and snakes. There was a moment in the boat when a spider as big as my hand climbed in, and I had to remove it myself,” Ribane recalled.
“But the biggest challenge was the water. The current was so strong that one mistake against a rock could capsize the boat and throw you into dirty water full of crocodiles.”
Ribane said the team’s primary purpose went beyond recovery operations. “Our main job is to give families closure. The most painful part of this work is when you can’t give that to them, when you can’t recover a body or even remains,” she said.
At Tswinga village outside Thohoyandou, the rescuers were tasked with searching the Dzindi River, a crossing known to be infested with crocodiles and hippos.
Ribane was assigned as a swift water technician, spending five days inside the river during search operations. “We worked closely with SAPS water wing units. When crocodiles came too close, they used special sound devices like a controlled blast to scare them away without hurting them. Sometimes the crocodiles would get angry and stare at us before swimming off,” she said.
Despite the danger, the team pressed on.
Their search led to the recovery of a Toyota Hilux single cab vehicle that had been swept away by floodwaters. It was believed to have had two male Ethiopian occupants — a driver and a passenger — at the time of the incident. Their bodies are yet to be found.
Simphiwe Dube, who has been part of Rescue SA’s national team since 2019 and served as a deputy team leader on the mission, said safety and coordination were critical. “We worked under the command of SAPS. Divers checked inside the vehicle while we supported them from inflatable boats. We always moved as a group. No one went into the water alone,” Dube said.
“There were seven boats in the water at one point, with ambulance personnel on standby.”
Dube said it weighed on her emotionally to work alongside anxious families who gathered near the riverbanks waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones. “They wanted to come closer when we found the car. They wanted to see for themselves. It was difficult because we had to balance their pain with safety and the rules of the operation,” he said.
For Ribane, the mission was also deeply personal. A mother of four she said her family’s safety was constantly on her mind.
“I kept praying. I would ask God to look after my children while I was out there. We worked eight hours a day in the river and only later would I see missed calls from my husband checking if I was still okay,” she said.
The Gauteng team, registered under the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), returned home on Tuesday, leaving ongoing searches and investigations in the hands of SAPS and local disaster management authorities.
Back in Ekurhuleni, the team received a warm welcome from acting divisional head, Lifty Ngoepe and senior district manager and SAESI president, Theresa Geldenhuys.
For the rescuers, however, the mission’s emotional impact lingers.
“There is nothing more than finding a loved one and bringing them back to their family,” Dube said. “Even when we leave, we know the work is not finished. We just hope that one day, those families will get the closure they deserve.”
Source: The Sowetan