The Gcabashe family in Lamontville, KZN, is still searching for the body of their mother, 60-year-old Zondeni Gcabashe, who was swept away during the devastating Durban floods in February.

Her daughter, Ntombikhona Mhlongo, said the family continues to hold onto hope that her body will eventually be found, as they long to give her a proper burial, The Witness reports.

Gcabashe was last seen on the evening of February 25, when a nearby river overflowed and flooded their area.

“Earlier there were light showers but in the evening it poured very hard. The water started seeping through into the house and the next thing the house got flooded. When I looked outside, the river had burst its banks and the water had risen to the level of the houses.

“Tree trucks, branches and debris were floating, and as we were trying to escape to a higher level, that’s when my mother lost balance and we watched her being swept away. That was the painful part because there was nothing we could do as it was dangerous,” she said.

She said the divers and search and rescue teams had combed the area but could not find her mother. She said weeks later, they visited mortuaries with the hope of finding her body.

“We heard about a body that washed up at South Beach, but we were told at the Phoenix mortuary that the victim was in her 30s. All we want is closure. We can’t rest not knowing where her body is lying,” said Mhlongo.

The floods left hundreds of people displaced and five other people, including children aged 5,11 and 16, dead.

On Friday, KZN Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma handed the Gcabashe family a newly-built house as part of Nelson Mandela Day.

Duma spent 67 minutes inspecting and taking part in the building of other houses for flood victims.

Department spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said there were 30 more houses under construction for other flood victims in the area.

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