Dad declares, “I know my boy is dead,” as 49 flood victims arrive in south Africa
In the heartbreaking Mthatha floods that have ripped families apart, a father’s voice breaks as he talks about his lost son, one of 49 people who have perished.
Given the amount of time and ground we’ve spent searching for him, I had hoped he could have survived. After a school bus was destroyed by floodwaters, the distraught father remarked, “I’m beginning to accept the reality that he is no more.”
49 bodies have been recovered from the murky waters, according to the Eastern Cape government, as frantic rescue teams continue to look for loved ones who might never return home.
The number of fatalities, according to Premier Oscar Mabuyane, is increasing every hour.
“This is a challenging scenario. As I sit here, the police inform me that the dead toll has increased to 49 from 39 when I arrived. “The number keeps increasing and the search is still ongoing,” he stated.
15 persons, including 13 pupils, were locked inside a school transport bus on its way to Jumba Senior Secondary School on Tuesday morning, sparking the tragedy. The innocent children were taken to their deaths when the bus was whisked off the Efata bridge like a toy.
On Tuesday, three students were rescued alive, providing families with a bittersweet taste of hope. Rescue crews, however, had retrieved the bodies of the driver and his helper, as well as six additional youngsters, by Wednesday. The family of the four missing children are holding on to dwindling prayers every hour.
The majority of the deceased were discovered near Dicoligny village, where the bus was engulfed by the enraged river, causing the muddy waters to dump their fatal cargo.
Every minute feels like a lifetime to the relatives of the missing students, according to Jumba Senior School deputy principal Nosipho Nodada. Walking along the banks of the river, they gaze into the dark water that has taken their world and call out names that might never be answered.
Emergency arrangements are being prepared by the provincial administration to assist people who have lost their houses. Though rescue teams have been dispatched by the Gift of the Givers to assist in the search for those who remain missing, time is running out and hope is dwindling.
These are not merely figures or data. These are parents who will never again embrace their newborns, children who will never return home from school, and families whose lives have been ruined in a few short hours.
In Grade 10, kids who had their entire life ahead of them are now lost due to flooding.
