At least 49 people are confirmed dead after flooding hit South Africa, including children whose school bus was swept away during the extreme weather, officials said.

Dozens of people were killed in South Africa, including several children whose school bus was swept away by flash floods, as unusually heavy rain, snow and wind pummeled parts of the country’s Eastern Cape Province this week.

Provincial government officials say at least seven people have died in flooding in South Africa after a weather front bringing heavy rain and snow hit eastern and southern provinces

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -At least eight bodies have been recovered after a school bus was swept away by floods near Mthatha in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, officials said on Wednesday. South Africa has been lashed by heavy rain and snow since the weekend, in a severe winter cold front which disrupted transport and power networks.

A minibus carrying schoolchildren has been swept away by heavy flooding in South Africa, a spokesperson for the Eastern Cape provincial government has told the BBC.