Flood Sweeps School Bus in South Africa Eastern Cape, Killing Nine

At least eight people have died after a school bus was swept away by severe floods near Mthatha in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, with three children rescued from the incident. The region has been experiencing intense winter storms marked by heavy rain, snow, and flooding, which have severely disrupted transport and power networks. Officials, including Eastern Cape community safety official Xolile Nqatha, confirmed ongoing search efforts amid the tragedy. President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences to the victims' families and affected communities. The flooding reflects a broader pattern of increasingly severe weather events in South Africa, which experts link to the impacts of climate change, including a deadly storm in April 2022 that killed around 400 people. Weather authorities also issued warnings for other provinces experiencing disruptive weather conditions such as heavy snowfall.