Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane, said according to the police 49 people died across the province due to the inclement weather conditions over the past two days.

This figure included the school children who were swept away on a 22-seater bus on Tuesday.

Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday after visiting the hardest-hit areas around Mthatha, Mabuyane said the grim death toll was from the OR Tambo district alone.

He also noted that there were 13 people on board a scholar transport vehicle that was swept away by flood waters.

Three learners were rescued alive on Tuesday while clinging to a tree, while four learners and two adults were confirmed deceased.

“Four learners are still missing. The rest of the deceased people are citizens of different ages,” the Premier said.

He said search and recovery operations are continuing across all affected areas, particularly within the OR Tambo District Municipality.

“We reiterate our deepest condolences to the bereaved families and call on residents to remain vigilant and to follow guidance from local disaster management teams,” he said.

Mabuyane said infrastructure technical teams have been activated to carry out assessment to ascertain the extent of the damage as well as interventions that are required across the province.

“At this stage 20 health facilities have suffered damages to varying levels,” he said.

The Premier said engineers were also on the ground assessing the impact and extent of the damage to the province’s road network including rural roads.

*This article was first published by Algoa FM