Ten children are missing and feared to have drowned after their 22-seater scholar transport bus, which was travelling to Jumba Senior Secondary School early on Tuesday, was washed away by floodwaters and gale-force winds at Efata near Mthatha.
Emergency response teams battled the raging currents in a desperate search for the children. The search was called off at 5pm and will resume on Wednesday.
Three children were rescued from the raging river after they managed to climb into a tree. A fourth child who had climbed into the tree was swept away.
The bus driver phoned the vehicle owner after becoming stuck in the raging water.
Twelve people in the Eastern Cape have been confirmed dead as a result of the bad weather.
Five died in an accident involving a minibus taxi on the N2 between Chintsa and Brakfontein, and seven others in Tsolo and Mthatha, where homes in some areas were submerged.
At least nine more people are confirmed missing.
“Police reports have confirmed six bodies were found along Decoligny village in Mthatha, while a seventh body was recovered at Tsolo near the Bedlana River,” provincial government spokesperson Khuselwa Rantjie said.
The body of Sizeka Sithelo, 39, was found inside a locked house in Decoligny at about 5pm.
Her brother, Aron Sithelo, said he cried when the door of the house was broken down by police and her body recovered.
“During the night, she called for help, saying she was trapped inside and could not open the door because of the water.
“She was screaming. I told her to break the roof and stay on top until the water subsided. I kept phoning her, asking her not to panic, but our phones died.
“When I got there, the house was submerged. We managed to rescue children who were in another house,” he said.
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane said the floods were a devastating reminder of nature’s force.
“We urge everyone to exercise extra caution in areas prone to flooding. Our disaster response teams are on high alert and committed to ensuring the community’s safety.”
Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha said: “The area has been hard hit by the floods, which resulted in many houses being submerged and the scholar transport bus being swept away by the river ...
“We have requested reinforcements and the national joint operational centre has been activated. A South African National Defence Force aircraft is likely to arrive with more reinforcements.”
Nomahlubi Mphatsane, the aunt of one of the missing children, said: “We received a report from his sister that Siyavuya had not yet arrived at school. We are distraught.”
Noluthando Mjozi, 52, from Phola Park, said she was with her three grandchildren when her house was suddenly submerged by water.
“We were struggling to get out as the door was closed and had a locked security gate.
“We screamed for help and some people smashed the windows and pulled us out of the house.
“We lost everything. We have only the clothes we are wearing. My house is still under water.”
Jumba Senior Secondary School deputy principal Nosipho Nodada said most of the missing pupils were in grade 10.
“We are heartbroken and anxious. It has been hours since this tragedy. We are praying we at least find their bodies.
“The bus was found, but their bodies are still missing.”
OR Tambo district municipal bosses have introduced water rationing in Mthatha and surrounds after the downpours damaged water pumps at the Thornhill and Rosedale water treatment works.
In a statement, the municipality said: “The pumps have been submerged by the floods and we cannot pump water to all reservoirs.
“We have closed the reservoirs to avoid the total shutdown of water supply. The contingency plan that we have applied is to ration the remaining supply.”
Residents from the Skiet informal settlement, Mission Village and Zizamele informal settlement in Butterworth were woken by floodwaters destroying their shelters and inundating their belongings.
Skiet informal settlement resident Bulele Mdingi lost her home.
“About 5am on Tuesday, I was woken by a neighbour whose clothes were drenched from the heavy rain.
“I did not have enough time to collect my basic essentials. I have lost everything.”
Mnquma municipal spokesperson Loyiso Mpalantshane said all government stakeholders were on site to provide disaster relief.
“Victims have been evacuated from the hardest-hit areas and accommodated in community halls.
“Mnquma disaster officials and ward committee members have been placed on alert to register victims so they can benefit from food parcels, blankets and other relief measures from the local Sassa office.”
Amathole District Municipality spokesperson Sisa Msiwa said the Butterworth Water Treatment Works had been inundated by floodwaters and was non-operational.
“Residents are urged to use water sparingly while recovery teams work to stabilise operations.
“The ADM water services technical team and the district disaster management team are conducting on-site inspections to assess the extent of the damage and fast-track technical and humanitarian interventions.”
Msiwa said people had been evacuated from Morgan’s Bay and Kei Mouth, with Great Kei Local Municipality residents being housed in community halls.
“Arrangements are being made for hot meals, blankets and mattresses.”
Gift of the Givers also activated its disaster response team in the province.
Provincial co-ordinator Corene Conradie said the team would deliver humanitarian relief including food, blankets and essential supplies.
Eskom spokesperson Zama Mpondwana said areas across the province had experienced outages.
“Eskom teams are on site preparing to make the areas safe and start the restoration of electricity supply. We urge customers to be patient and to treat all electricity appliances as live.
“As some areas continue to experience adverse weather, supply restoration might take longer as accessing certain sites might pose a challenge.”
Buffalo City spokesperson Bongani Fuzile said the metro had been relatively unscathed.
“There was one incident of a fire reported in Ward 1 while another shack from the same ward was blown away.
“A mud structure collapsed in Ward 22, but there were no reported injuries.
“One house was flooded in Ward 15. A meeting to check the state of readiness of the stakeholders was held on Tuesday.”
Fuzile said other incidents included the flooding of Settlers Way and a tree that fell in Cambridge.
“Beachgoers should stay clear of the beaches as more big waves are expected.”
Fuzile said community halls were available to shelter people, and teams were on standby to assist.
Transport department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said those killed in the accident on the N2 outside East London included two men and three women.
“The driver and a female passenger were taken to hospital with serious injuries. A case of culpable homicide has been opened.”
Many roads across the province were closed or partially closed because of heavy snowfalls, including the N2 between KwaBhaca (Mount Frere) and Kokstad, and the N9 in Middelburg at Lootsberg towards Graaff-Reinet, where traffic was moving slowly under the supervision of traffic officers.
The N6 in Komani at Penhoek Pass towards James Calata (Jamestown) was still open despite the snow.
The poor weather also resulted in cases in both the Mthatha high and magistrate’s courts being postponed, with lawyers, police, complainants, judges and accused individuals unable to get to court because of flooded roads and bridges.
These included two high-profile cases of mass shootings, the September 2024 mass shooting of 18 people at Ngobozana village in Lusikisiki as well as the mass killing in Qunu, where seven people lost their lives in what is believed to be a territorial dispute between drug lords.
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