Rescue officials say some of the cases may be unrelated to the church baptism group and could be the result of isolated incidents not yet reported.

On Monday, the families of those who were swept away during a baptism ceremony in the Jukskei River, gathered at the Hillbrow Mortuary in Johannesburg to identify their loved ones.

While some family members did not want to speak to the media, 33-year-old Thokozani Sibanda's family told reporters they felt confused and stressed, and all they wanted was to find her. 

Speaking to News24, Sibanda's aunt, Hloniphani Ncube, said she was last seen over the weekend and never returned home. Sibanda was not in any of the pictures shown to them.

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"My worry now is, where is she? We are stressed," she said. "We hope she is still out there because she is not in the pictures, so we have some faith that we will find her," she added.

Sibanda's husband, who was also outside the mortuary, could not gather the strength to speak to the media.

The spokesperson for the Gauteng Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Robert Mulaudzi, said that it was not yet clear how many people had been swept away. Two bodies were recovered on Saturday, with another 12 retrieved on Sunday. 

The spokesperson for the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), Craig Lambinon, said that as many as 18 people might have been swept away in the flash flood. On Saturday, the rescue crew located the bodies of a woman and a teenage girl.

Another woman was rescued near Arkwright Avenue and taken to the hospital. On Sunday, they recovered the bodies of three men, six women, a girl, a boy, and a toddler.

"It cannot be ruled out that one or more of the cases are unrelated to the church baptism and are the result of isolated incidents that have not been reported."Investigations are continuing," said Lambinon.

 News24