A SACRED ceremony took a devastating turn after Bongani Durumani allegedly drowned on Sunday, 21 January.
The incident left church members, family members and the community in shock and grief.
It's alleged that the deceased was swept away by the waters of the river while they were still in a prayer session in the overflowing Lepelle River, which is said to be crocodile infested.
The deceased, who was originally from KZN, worked at Atok Mine in Fetakgomo Local Municipality in Limpopo.
A witness told Daily Sun that the police rescue team arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, but they were not familiar with the river.
"It was deemed unsafe to start a river search in a canoe late at night as they did not know the exit points. The search continued the next day, but he was not found. It was a relief that he was found on the afternoon of Tuesday, 23 January, but in a decomposed state," the witness said.
The family spokesman, Mpho Makgolane, expressed how difficult it was for the family to come to terms with his death.
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"We are deeply hurt as a family as the incident happened on Sunday as this day is considered a day of worship and rest," he said.
According to the police, the deceased was a prophet and he and three prophets went to the overflowing Lepelle River (Oliphant) to pray.
Limpopo police spokesman Colonel Malesela Ledwaba confirmed the incident and indicated that cops are conducting an investigation.
Ledwaba said that on Sunday, 21 January police received a report of drowning of a 48-year-old man who drowned during a baptism ceremony.
"While they were praying, one prophet suddenly got into trouble and tragically drowned. The two other prophets tried to search for him but were unsuccessful. It is believed that he was attacked by crocodiles during the baptism ceremony.
"The teams from the search and rescue, water rescue and emergency medical services conducted several search operations in collaboration with the concerned stakeholders. On Tuesday, 23 January, they succeeded in recovering the body in a crocodile-infested river. The post-mortem is still being conducted to determine the cause of death," Ledwaba said.
