By Anita Dangazele
- Mthatha floods have claimed 49 lives, with the death toll rising every hour as desperate families search for missing loved ones
- A school bus carrying 15 people, including 13 children, was swept away, with four pupils still missing, and families losing hope
A father’s voice breaks as he speaks about his missing son, one of 49 people who have died in the devastating Mthatha floods that have torn families apart.
“I had hope that maybe he had survived, but judging by the number of hours and the ground we’ve covered trying to look for him. I’m starting to accept the reality that he is no more,” said the heartbroken father, whose child was swept away when floodwaters claimed a school bus.
The Eastern Cape government has confirmed that 49 bodies have been pulled from the muddy waters as desperate search teams continue looking for loved ones who may never come home.
Premier Oscar Mabuyane said the death toll keeps climbing every hour.
“This is a difficult situation. When I got here, the death toll stood at 39, but now, as I’m sitting here, I’m told by police that it has risen to 49. The search is still going and the number keeps rising,” he said.
The tragedy began Tuesday morning when 15 people, including 13 schoolchildren, were trapped inside a school transport bus heading to Jumba Senior Secondary School. The bus was swept off the Efata bridge like a toy, carrying innocent children to their deaths.
Three learners were pulled out alive on Tuesday, giving families a cruel taste of hope. But by Wednesday, rescue teams had recovered the bodies of six more children, the driver and his assistant. Four children remain missing, their families clinging to prayers that grow weaker with each passing hour.
Most of the dead were found in Dicoligny village, where the muddy waters had dumped their tragic cargo after the bus was swallowed by the angry river.
Jumba Senior School deputy principal Nosipho Nodada said most of the missing pupils were
in Grade 10, teenagers with their whole lives ahead of them, now lost to the floods.
For the families still searching, every minute feels like a lifetime. They walk the riverbanks calling out names that may never be answered, looking into the dark water that has stolen their world.
The provincial government is making emergency plans to help those who have lost their homes. The Gift of the Givers has sent rescue teams to help find those still missing, but time is running out, and hope is fading.
These are not just numbers or statistics. These are children who will never come home from school, parents who will never hold their babies again, and families whose lives have been destroyed in a matter of hours.
Pictured above: Two bodies being retrieved in Decoligny village in Mthatha.
Image source: EC Premier’s Office
