Children swept away in school bus among at least 49 killed in South Africa flooding

At least 49 people are confirmed dead after flooding hit South Africa, including children whose school bus was swept away during the extreme weather, officials said.

An intense cold front has ripped across parts of South Africa, bringing rain and snow and triggering floods.

In the Eastern Cape, one of the hardest-hit provinces, floodwaters have forced many people out of their homes, causing power outages and road closures, according to the provincial authority.

Earlier on Wednesday, the state broadcaster SABC reported that a school bus was swept into a river in Decoligny village on Tuesday morning while en route to school.

The provincial government said that 13 people, including pupils, their driver, and his assistant, were on the bus.

“Sadly four of those learners have been confirmed to be deceased together with the driver and the conductor of the mini-bus”, Eastern Cape premier Lubabalo Oscar Mabuyane said in a briefing Wednesday afternoon.

Four others remain missing, he said, adding that rescue teams were still searching for more bodies.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said in an earlier statement that three children were rescued from the vehicle during a condolence message to bereaved families.

South Africa has grappled with flooding in recent years with some of them deadly.

In 2022, floods fueled by heavy downpours left up to 400 people dead in Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal province.