Bluff hero tells of rescuing terrified people trapped under bridge with a rapidly rising river
Durban - “I’m no hero, just an ordinary guy.”
That was the comment from Bluff resident, Blayne Knight, 33, who saved four homeless men caught in raging waters and hanging on for dear life under a bridge during the floods in Durban.
And it was a case of being in the right place at the right time for the ex-lifesaver and NSRI member.
Speaking to the IOS this week, Knight, who is a member of Bluff RTL8 community group, said he left his home for an early morning gym session at around 5am as the rain pelted down across Durban.
“Edwin Swales Drive was waterlogged, so to try and find another way out of the Bluff to gym, I went down Bayhead Road.
“I came across the fire department on a bridge. Four men were trapped under it and they had put a ladder down, but were waiting for the search and rescue unit to arrive.
“The space under the bridge was minimal between the bridge and the water - probably around 60cm - and there was a very strong current.
“The men were petrified and suddenly they went silent. Search and rescue were out on other emergencies and the road had collapsed further on, so they would not have reached us anyway.
“I decided it’s do or die and put a rope down to go down and to swim to the men. These were people in danger and we had to get them out.
“The current was very strong, but with the assistance of the fire department guys, I could maintain some sort of control as I went down.
“At first the guys didn’t want to communicate and I was concerned the bridge was going to collapse on top of us.
“Three of the guys decided to trust me, but the fourth one was still very nervous. I just kept talking to him and telling him there was only one way out and that he did not want to drown under that bridge,” said Knight.
With some reassurance, Knight managed to help each man to the ladder from where the fire department assisted in getting them up and on to the bridge.
“Once they were all up, they all started hugging me. But they were still scared. But that was just the start of my day. There was no way out of the Bluff, ” said Knight, adding that his day was spent assisting residents who had got stuck in their cars on a flooded Edwin Swales Drive.
“We barely slept for three days and we’ve been helping people in the area to get water,” said Knight.
While the four rescued men could not be contacted for comment, the Bluff RTL8 community group posted their comments about Knight’s heroic actions.
“Meet one of our first responders who saved four men from certain death. We are so proud of you Blayne,” read the post.
And as tales of heroes and hope emerged in the wake of the devastating floods, mopping up operations continued over the Easter weekend and into the start of this week, when the death toll had reached 443, with 63 people still missing.
Many people have been left homeless, and water and power outages continue across the city. A number of areas have not had water since last week and water tankers have been dispatched. Premier Sihle Zikalala said a war room had been established to continue with the disaster relief operations, while the Department of Health remains on high alert for water borne diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.
Independent On Saturday