The incident happened around 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) at the Bay of Plenty, one of the popular beaches in the city, local officials said.

“There was a freak wave that washed some people to sea, three have drowned and 17 people have been taken to hospital. One of the victims was a child aged around seven or eight years old, and the injured are in serious or critical condition,” Robert Mckenzie, spokesman of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial first responders services said.

Freak waves are unusually large, unpredictable, and suddenly appearing surface waves that can be extremely dangerous to swimmers. (ILKHA)