POLOKWANE: Since Thursday, the SAPS air wing, along with search and rescue members and other emergency services, had rescued six people from fast-flowing rivers brought about by the recent heavy rains, Limpopo police said.
Three of those fortunate to be rescued from the Limpopo River near Beit Bridge were young girls between six and 10 years old, the SAPS reported on its official Facebook page yesterday.
In addition to the rescues, police divers recovered the bodies of three young boys who drowned in ditches filled with water in the Giyani and Mankweng areas.
“Community members are requested to refrain from crossing swollen or fast-flowing rivers and streams, either on foot or in vehicles.
“Parents are also advised to caution children not to swim in water-filled ditches or holes as they can easily underestimate the depth of the water,” the SAPS statement said.
In Kwaggafontein, a woman and a rescue worker drowned on Saturday after they were swept away by floodwater in Frischgewaagd village near Kwaggafontein in Mpumalanga, police said.
Mpumalanga police spokesman Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said the woman drowned when the minibus taxi she was travelling in was caught in floodwaters on the road.
“The second victim is a fire and rescue member who risked his life trying to save the woman and the taxi driver. Unfortunately, he was also washed away by the floods immediately after he managed to save the driver of the taxi,” Hlathi said.
The bodies of the woman and the rescue worker, aged 26 and 31 respectively, were retrieved from the water later on Saturday. The woman and the driver were the only occupants of the taxi at the time. An inquest docket had been opened, Hlathi said.
A member of the public, Dolly Mthweni, posted on her Facebook page a picture of a white minibus trapped in floodwaters on what appeared to be a bridge in Frischgewaagd village. – ANA