“I know one person was rescued by a helicopter from the taxi but I don’t know if there were others in that taxi,” he said.WATCH: Severe downpours devastate parts of JohannesburgA resident in the area, Linda Maqwazima, said he was on his way to the shops around 6.30am when noticed a taxi full of passengers being swept by the water.
“I don’t know if he was from the Polo or the taxi. We just saw the hand passing by, people were screaming ‘there is someone’ but the rescue team did not manage to rescue them. It was terrible, I’ve seen some scenes but this one was terrible,” he said.“The situation might get worse, especially for those who are staying in the shacks.”
“In Kliptown, there was a house that completely submerged. Our teams could not walk to the house, they had to use the small boat they use in a river.”Khumalo said a number of bridges have been reported to have either overflowed or collapsed. Nkokheli Juwele, who stays near the lake, said the car was driving towards Roodepoort when it was swept away by water.