Seven men and two boys trapped by heavy snow on a farm near Beaufort West were brought to safety on Tuesday, Cape Town disaster management said.
“A city disaster response team, while on board a SA National Defence Force helicopter, this morning rescued seven men from the farm Matjiesfontein,” said spokesman Wilfred Solomons-Johannes.
Two boys aged 15 and 19 from Eersteriver, who were visiting the farm for the school holidays, were also flown out.
Solomons-Johannes said the men were dropped in Beaufort West with the boys, who would travel back to Cape Town later on Tuesday.
He said the disaster teams and the SA Air Force would continue to search for people in distress.
Earlier, it was estimated that 120 people were still trapped and isolated by heavy snowfalls in the central Karoo.
Heavy rains also affected people in the Murraysburg region.
Snowfall in the Western Cape and other areas resulted in motorists being trapped on roads and rural towns being cut off from the outside world.
Solomons-Johannes said an unknown number of farm workers and their families were cut off from the outside world in the region.
Cape Town disaster teams dispatched to Beaufort West brought dry wood, food parcels, blankets, and baby packs to the victims on Monday night.
Solomons-Johannes said donations would be welcomed.
An information hotline was established and members of the public could contribute to the disaster relief operations by contacting the city's disaster risk management centre at 021-597-6004.
People could donate fresh or tinned food, wood, paraffin, and blankets, and in addition help transport these goods. – Sapa