Three people froze to death in the Eastern Cape’s snowy weather at the weekend, disaster management coordinator Captain John Fobian said on Monday.
The latest deaths bring the total number of people dying as a result of the country-wide cold weather to 21 since last week.
The bodies of two herders were found on the mountains at Lady Frere on Sunday. Their names would be released as soon as their next-of-kin had been informed of their deaths, Fobian said.
Another man, in his 20s, died in a township in Elliot after being exposed to the cold weather on Saturday.
A total of 17 people have drowned in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape since a cold front hit the country last week.
At least eight people drowned when a bakkie was swept off a low-level bridge over the Ngwani River between Idutywa and Willowvale. The police were still searching for the last missing person, which would confirm a death toll of nine.
In KwaZulu-Natal, eight people drowned after their vehicle was swept away by heavy flood waters near Amatikulu. The Toyota Hilux 2,8 litre, carrying the driver and seven nurses, was swept away after the driver underestimated the water flow over a small bridge and continued to cross.
A homeless person died of hypothermia at Ulundi in the
KwaZulu-Natal Midlands on Saturday, police representative Superintendent Laurence Zondi said. – Sapa