A woman and a rescue worker drowned on Saturday morning after they were swept away by floodwater in Frischgewaagd village near Kwaggafontein in Mpumalanga, police said.
The incident happened amid occasional heavy rain that started in the early hours of Saturday morning, Mpumalanga police spokesman Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said.
He told the African News Agency (ANA) that the woman drowned when the minibus taxi she was travelling in was caught in floodwater 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 floodwater on what appeared to be a bridge in Frischgewaagd village.
– African News Agency (ANA)
