No fewer than seven people have died in flooding caused by severe winter weather in the eastern regions of South Africa.
The government revealed this on Tuesday, adding that schoolchildren are missing after a minibus was swept away.
Meanwhile, three children were reportedly rescued after spending hours on trees to escape rising waters near the Eastern Cape city of Mthatha, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm that struck on Monday.
According to a statement by the provincial government, six bodies were found in the city, which is about 800 kilometres (500 miles) south of Johannesburg, and a seventh body was found near a river in the rural Tsolo area.
“The search is still ongoing regarding a minibus carrying school children that swept away earlier this morning,”; the provincial government said.
The government further stated that it had deployed disaster management teams to assist people affected by the severe cold front, which also brought snowfalls to several areas.
According to local media reports, residents of Mthatha had been trapped on rooftops in bitterly cold conditions early Tuesday.
The reports added that around 200 people had taken shelter in a community hall in the town of Butterworth, about 110 kilometres away, after their homes in an informal settlement were flooded.
