A sorrowful update was issued by MDN news regarding the retrieval of nine dead bodies belonging to ” Masowe ” churchgoers who had allegedly went for baptism in the Jukskei River in Morningside. In accordance with the update that was issued , the nine were part of the fifteen church members who got swept away during baptism.

It was highlighted by MDN news that the authorities were still at the scene trying to retrieve more bodies who got swept away .In the update that was issued by News24 , it was reported that the congregants drowned during a church baptism that took place on Saturday evening.

A confirmation that was issued by the EMS spokesperson ,Robert Mulaudzi confirmed that a total of nine bodies had been retrieved from the river , with two having been retrieved on Saturday ,while seven got retrieved on Sunday .It was confirmed that one person was rescued and taken to hospital to receive medical attention.

As for the condition of the river , it was highlighted that the conditions were still good enough for the rescue team to conduct their duties .This was because it did not rain , something which would have made it difficult for the rescue team to retrieve the bodies.

Although this was least expected ,it was a bad decision to conduct baptism in the river . Church leaders need to find safer places to conduct their religious practices. It would have been a different story had the religious leaders used a swimming pool with less water ,than to take the risk of conducting the baptism in such a river . It has been raining in the past days in the province of Gauteng ,making rivers a dangerous place for the community members .