School Bus Swept Away as Floods in South Africa Kill at Least 49
Dozens of people were killed in South Africa, including several children whose school bus was swept away by flash floods, as unusually heavy rain, snow and wind pummeled parts of the country's Eastern Cape Province this week.
A slow-moving storm raged over the largely rural province on Monday and Tuesday, drowning homes and leaving thousands of residents displaced, without water or electricity, according to local officials and the national power utility.
On Wednesday, the authorities were still searching for four children who had been on the school bus. Eleven children had been riding the bus on Tuesday, when it was swept off a bridge in the town of Mthatha. Three children from the bus were rescued after they clung to trees for hours, while four others and two adults were killed, local officials said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the province's premier, Oscar Mabuyane, said 49 people had been killed. While the worst of the weather has passed, officials said, they fear the toll could rise as many people remain unaccounted for.
'Disasters have hit our province, but we have never experienced this combination of torrential rain and snow,' Mr. Mabuyane said.
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