Cape Town, South Africa (AP) – At least seven individuals have lost their lives due to flooding In South Africa, authorities reported on Tuesday as heavy rains and snow battered the eastern and southern regions.
A bus transporting high school students was engulfed by floodwaters in the Eastern Cape, with an unknown number of children reported missing, according to a statement from the state government. The bus, operated by a member of the South African National Taxi Council, had three children rescued after they managed to cling onto a tree.
Disaster response teams are being mobilized across the South Coast states.
Six fatalities were reported in floodwaters in the city of Moussata, Eastern Cape, where homes and vehicles remain submerged. The state government confirmed that the seventh body was found near Tyro, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Msata.
A search is ongoing for a minibus that was carrying schoolchildren and was swept away on Tuesday morning. Santaco, a member of the taxi council, noted that it is unclear how many children were aboard the 22-seater bus when the flood washed it away on a bridge near Mutasa.
“Witnesses at the scene reported seeing at least three children clinging to a tree, calling for help,” Santaco stated. “Those three were rescued shortly thereafter.”
“This is a heartbreaking reminder of nature’s power,” commented Eastern Cape Prime Minister Oscar Mabuyane.
Additionally, five more individuals died in a car accident in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday when a minibus taxi overturned, according to Unathi Binqose, a spokesperson for the state’s transportation department. The driver was allegedly attempting to avoid trees that had fallen onto the road.
The South African Weather Service forecasts several days of destructive rain and snow across the Eastern Cape and neighboring KwaZulu-Natal. Significant highways connecting the two provinces have been closed, and disaster response teams have been activated in KwaZulu-Natal as well.
South Africa Sometimes I experience snow in certain areas, with authorities having issued warnings for days in anticipation of a powerful cold front approaching the nation.
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Source: apnews.com