At least 49 people have died in flooding in South Africa, officials say

Snow covers the N2 road heading to Nolangeni (Greater Kokstad Municipality via AP)

At least 49 people have died in flooding in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province after an extreme cold front brought heavy rain and snow to parts of the country, officials said on Wednesday.

Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane said the death toll was provided by police.

The toll included six students who were washed away when their school bus was caught in floodwaters near a river on Tuesday, Mr Mabuyane told journalists.

He said four other students were missing.

He said the death toll was likely to rise: “As we speak here, other bodies are being discovered.”

Mr Mabuyane’s office had reported seven deaths in the floods on Tuesday.

Disaster response teams have been activated in Eastern Cape province and in neighboring KwaZulu-Natal province after torrential rain in parts of southern and eastern South Africa.

Power outages have affected hundreds of thousands of homes, authorities said.

The Eastern Cape province is especially hard hit, with houses submerged or destroyed and cars carried away by floodwaters.