Severe winter storms that brought days of rain and snow to South Africa’s Eastern Cape have left at least 49 people dead, provincial premier Oscar Mabuyane told reporters on Wednesday.
The latest casualty report followed the discovery of six bodies from a school bus that was swept away near Mthatha; four passengers remain missing. The bus had been carrying 13 children and two adults.
Heavy downpours since the weekend have washed away roads, disrupted power lines and hampered rescue work across the province. Officials warned that climate-driven extreme weather is making such flooding more frequent. A storm along the East Coast in April 2022 killed about 400 people and displaced thousands.