Search for missing man believed to have drowned in Westdene Dam halted

Search-and-rescue efforts for a missing man, Phumlani Gladile, believed to have drowned in Westdene Dam, in Johannesburg, have been suspended for the day. 

Emergency teams said they will only resume their search on Wednesday.

Gladile’s family said he was "acting strange" before his disappearance.

Emergency teams began a search for the 25-year-old earlier on Monday after a fisherman alerted police that he spotted what he believed was a floating body at the dam. 

Gladile was reported missing by his family on Sunday.

The family said before filing a missing person's report, they were notified that the 25-year-old was acting out of character.

Gladile's cousin, Aphiwe Mvubu, gave an account of what they heard from his housemate: "What we heard from his housemate is that from Wednesday, he started acting strange, like talking alone, doing strange things around the house, and on Friday, that’s when he started getting worse."

Mvubu said they were later notified to come identify a bag that was found near the dam. 

This was after a fisherman reported to authorities that he had seen a man who was "seemingly not in a right state of mind" dive into the dam and later saw a body floating.

During search-and-recovery operations on Monday, rescue crews focused on the far end of the dam, where they believe the body could be stuck.

However, after hours of searching, the rescue teams came up short. The operation has been halted for the rest of the afternoon, with police saying they will resume on Wednesday.