The bodies of siblings aged four and six were recovered after floods washed away houses and bridges at Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape at the weekend.
Five more people are said to be still missing since the torrential rains started to battered parts of the province over a week ago.
Zimkhitha Macingwane, spokesperson for the O.R Tambo district municipality, said the search and rescue operation will resume on Monday for other missing people.
“A joint operation between the police and the community of Coffee Bay has led to the recovery of the two bodies. The deceased were part of people who were reported missing following floods in Coffee Bay,” said Macingwane.
“The siblings, a six-year-old girl and her four-year-old sister, were swept away by the raging waters that destroyed their house at Lutshini village while they were sleeping on Friday night.
Macingwane said the search continues for the children’s missing mother who was in the house with them when it crumbled.
“Another pair of siblings, two girls aged five and seven from Qhogi village, are still missing after they drowned while crossing a flooded stream with their mother and an older sister. The family was returning home from a clinic on Friday,” said Macingwane.
She added that the district mayor, Mesuli Ngqondwana, is expected to visit the area on Monday.
“The O.R. Tambo multi-stakeholder disaster and risk management team is still on site at the affected villages to provide support and conduct assessment of the damage caused by the weeklong torrential rains.
Members of the community have been urged to remain vigilant and to avoid crossing flooded rivers and streams, as well as damaged bridges.
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