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IOL News
5 days ago
- General
- IOL News
Search for missing pilot to resume on Friday after aircraft crash off Durban beach
Parts of the light aircraft were recovered on Thursday afternoon. Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO / Independent Newspapers The search for a missing pilot will resume on Friday morning after a light aircraft crashed into the ocean near Battery Beach on Thursday afternoon. This is according to update provided by ALS Paramedics. The light aircraft had been participating in an airshow linked to the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Summit, which was being hosted at the Durban International Convention Centre this week. The summit is the third annual global meeting organised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA). The Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) said the crash occurred near Suncoast Casino at approximately 13:45pm. 'The accident occurred at approximately 13:45 when the ZS-AEC Extra 300 aircraft that was performing its final display crashed into the sea,' the AIID said in a media statement. 'The Emergency Medical Services and law enforcement immediately attended to the scene.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ ALS Paramedics, which was among the first on scene, reported that emergency personnel, including SAPS, Symmetry Police Search and Rescue Units, the T25 department, and the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), were deployed. Pictures from the scene showed that wreckage from the plane had been recovered. KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, said he went to the crash scene immediately after receiving the report. 'I was received by the Director of SA Civil Aviation Authority, Ms Poppy Khoza and her team,' Duma said. 'Ms Khoza informed me that the authority's Accident and Incident Investigations Division (AIID) has taken over and will be conducting an extensive investigation to establish the causes of the accident. 'Critically, as the Department of Transport in KwaZulu-Natal, our hearts are with the family of the pilot,' he said.
IOL News
11-08-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Doctors Without Borders condemn denial of immigrant healthcare as activists intensify deportation push
Doctors Without Borders highlights healthcare crisis for immigrants in South Africa. Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO/Independent Newspapers Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has raised alarm over what it calls a 'distressing and unacceptable' crisis in South Africa's public healthcare system, where anti-illegal immigrant groups are blocking foreign nationals, many of them pregnant women or patients with chronic illnesses from receiving treatment. MSF says its teams have witnessed patients being turned away from more than half of the 15 healthcare facilities they visited in Gauteng. Groups of between two and 10 individuals, dressed in civilian clothing, have been stationed at clinic gates or inside facilities, demanding identification and refusing entry to those they deem non-South African. In some cases, security staff and healthcare workers were allegedly working in collusion with these anti-migrant groups. "This conduct is highly unacceptable," said MSF spokesperson Jane Rabothata, stressing that South Africa's Constitution guarantees everyone the right to access healthcare services and prohibits the refusal of emergency treatment. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading The consequences of the campaign to block illegal immigrants from accessing health care have been dire according to MSF. Many pregnant women with high-risk conditions, including hypertension, diabetes, and HIV, have gone without essential monitoring and treatment, said the organisation. Some HIV patients have reportedly been without their medication for over two weeks, placing their health and public health more broadly at serious risk. One pregnant patient, 16 weeks into her term, told MSF she wished she could terminate her pregnancy because she could not access care, yet feared the consequences of doing so. "Defaulting HIV treatment can have serious complications for individuals and create a broader public health concern," Rabothata warned. However, not everyone agrees with MSF's position. Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, leader of the March and March Movement, told IOL: "In light of what our Constitution says, illegal immigrants are not even supposed to be in the country. They're supposed to be taken and deported. "In the instance that they need emergency health care, they are welcome to access it but from there, they are meant to be deported. They are not supposed to be on a list for chronic medication, surgeries, getting medical treatment month after month and having multiple babies in the country. That is not what the Constitution says." Ngobese-Zuma claimed some illegal immigrants are stealing medication and taking it to their countries and starting businesses. "This is compromising the lives of South Africans who have no other country to go to and end up having to sleep on the floor without beds in hospitals, wait in queues or take their own money to buy medication from pharmacies." "We're not running a country on emotions, we are running for the wellbeing of the people," she said. South Africans can no longer survive having to share their medical resources with the whole of Africa." MSF emphasised that denying basic or emergency healthcare to migrants risks the spread of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV, and Covid-19 conditions that do not respect borders or legal status. Untreated illnesses, they warn, could spark outbreaks, increase treatment costs, and further burden the system. The government at the time condemned the protests and reaffirmed that the right to healthcare applies to all, regardless of nationality or documentation. MSF noted that South Africa's commitments to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights reinforce that healthcare is a universal right.
IOL News
11-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Trade union federations welcome ruling reinstating Ithala's operations
The Ithala SOC Limited building in Kingsmead, Durban. A recent court ruling has lifted restrictions on its operations. Image: DOCTOR NGCOBO Independent Newspapers Labour federations have described the court judgment handed down on Friday that restored some functions of Ithala SOC Limited as a victory that has renewed their faith in the justice system, adding this judgment should mark the first step towards turning Ithala into a fully fledged state bank. Labour federation Cosatu stated that the judgment has restored their faith in the justice system, while the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) said the Reserve Bank should not rush to close Ithala. They were reacting after the judgment handed down by Judge Muzi Ncube at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Friday lifted some of the restrictions on the bank's operations and management. In March, Ithala approached the court for an order to compel the SA Reserve Bank-appointed Repayment Administrator (RA) Johannes Kruger, to give it access to R863 million in frozen funds to pay staff. Kruger, in turn, sought to overturn a November 2024 court ruling that said he overstepped in his powers when he sought to take control of all operations at Ithala Bank. In Friday's ruling, Judge Ncube reaffirmed that Kruger has no right to take over the operational and day-to-day management of Ithala. The judge clarified that Kruger has no authority over the human resources, treasury, marketing, finance, and any other operational functions of Ithala, and that the board is not stripped of its powers despite the appointment of the RA. He further ordered that transactions on Ithala's bank accounts must be allowed for salaries and other expenses. The court further said Ithala is entitled to continue conducting its business. This may suggest that account holders may be able to access their accounts; however, this could not be confirmed with Ithala yesterday. Cosatu leader in KwaZulu-Natal, Edwin Mkhize, said, 'This judgment has restored our faith in the judiciary; it told us they can look at matters objectively. We hope that the Repayment Administrator and the Prudential Authority take it to heart and use it to assist Ithala, rather than close it.' He added, 'We have been very concerned about the impact this was having on the workers whose future was now in limbo, and we are worried about the effect this has had on the customers of the bank, which serves the most disadvantaged communities.' Saftu's Zwelinzima Vavi welcomed the judgment. 'Ithala must be saved. We hope that the Reserve Bank will not be in a rush to liquidate the only remaining black-owned bank in South Africa and will instead work to strengthen the bank, with the ambition of transforming it into a state bank. 'Ithala and Postbank must be combined to form a state bank with a transformation agenda to address the exclusionary practices that are being implemented by the big commercial banks.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕
