POLOKWANE — A 36-year-old female soldier has become the third South African National Defence Force member to die in flooding incidents within a week, after drowning when her vehicle was swept away by floodwaters in Polokwane on New Year’s Day.
The woman’s body was recovered from a river stream in the City of Polokwane on Thursday morning, approximately 2.5km downstream from where the incident occurred, provincial police said.
The tragedy unfolded around 04:00 on Wednesday when the soldier and two other occupants became trapped after their Renault Triber was swept away by heavy flowing water under a bridge along Grobler Street, according to police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba.
While the driver and one passenger managed to escape by grabbing reeds and pulling themselves from the river, the female soldier could not be saved. Her body was discovered by police divers around 11am Thursday, nearly seven hours after the initial incident.
“The other two occupants managed to grab reeds and exit the river, but unfortunately, the woman did not survive”
Police have opened an inquest into the circumstances surrounding her death.
The incident marks the second fatal flooding tragedy involving SANDF personnel in just one week. On Christmas Day, two military police members drowned near Komatipoort, Mpumalanga, when their patrol vehicle was swept away by strong currents in the flooded Komati River during Operation Corona, the military’s border safeguarding mission.
In that incident, one soldier’s body was recovered immediately while an extensive search operation involving SAPS diving teams and an SANDF Oryx helicopter continued for days before the second victim was found near the Mozambique-South Africa border. DNA testing was required to confirm the second victim’s identity.
A total of six people have drowned in Mpumalanga in flooding incidents since 1 January 2026, with more heavy rain is predicted for the province.
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