Two men have drowned while trying to get cross a swollen river in northern KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend.

KZN MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nomusa Dube-Ncube said in a statement on Sunday that, according to eyewitness accounts, Sibongiseni Sokhulu and Bongani Msani had been returning from a memorial service when they had been swept away by the raging Mona River in Ndwedwe. 

"Their bodies were subsequently recovered in the early hours of (Sunday) morning."

Dube-Ncube instructed her department's disaster management teams to meet with the family of the two men.

"I am shocked at this horrible incident. Again we are urging all our people to heed our warnings regarding the bad weather that is synonymous with our province. Let us suspend our journeys rather than risk our lives crossing rivers that have bursts their banks. If we work together, I am quite certain that we can minimise disasters. I would like to send my condolences to the grieving family," said Dube-Ncube.

The Mercury