Three die in river baptism

Johannesburg (AP) - A pastor and two members of his congregation drowned when they were washed away by a river during a baptism, police in Johannesburg said yesterday.

The bodies of the three were found by police divers on Thursday, a few hours after the accident in the Vaal River between Vanderbiljpark and Sasolburg, south of Johannesburg.

Police said the pastor was baptising one of the men in the river when they both slipped and disappeared under the murky water. The third man, who was waiting to be baptised, jumped into the water to rescue them and also vanished.