Hundreds of Parents lose their children on Cape Town beaches on New Year day

Thousands of people flock to celebrate New Year's Day on Cape Town's Muizenberg beach, January 1, 2015.

In Cape Town, South Africa beach crowded by about 200,000 people on New year's day to celebrate the day saw over 1,100 police were deployed, and by the end of day around 500 children had been lost, some as young as 3.

About 70 children hadn't been collected by parents by the end of New Year's Day, according to a Cape Town municipal official, although some reports put the number of unclaimed children as high as 100.The children, most of them less than 7 years old, were ferried to the city's police stations, where they had to spend the night. At one crowded city beach, 35 children were handed in, according to authorities.

Photo Credit:Reuters