Stranded pupils and teachers airlifted to safety after night of fear

● Hungry, wet, scared and with no electricity, 45 pupils and 15 teachers huddled overnight in their school in Molweni, northwest of Pinetown, cut off from help after a bridge was washed away by torrential rain on Tuesday.

The pupils and staff at Tholulwazi Secondary School feared for their lives — but were also panicking about their families’ safety, said deputy principal Siboniso Hlengwa.

It would be 20 hours until the first sign of help eventually came — in the form of a helicopter that airlifted them to safety.

Reliving the horror, Hlengwa said they had decided just before midday that all pupils should go home, as the rain was intensifying.

“Even then there was concern about safety on the way home, but most of the 500 pupils live nearby and we knew they would make it. The challenge was for those who use scholar transport because the only way to get to the main road is over a bridge.”

Three groups managed to get across the bridge before vehicles could no longer cross. Hlengwa said he was considering trying to drive across the bridge — “then we saw a car being washed away and I called back all the pupils who were trying to cross”.

“It was unsafe to even try. One of our colleagues was almost washed away; she was helped by the children. Everyone had to come back [to the school] and the security guards let us back in.”

To account for all pupils, Hlengwa asked for contact details and began making calls to tell worried parents that their children were safe.

But more challenges lay ahead. There was no water or electricity, no food and the pupils were soaking wet and cold.

“Nobody wants to be at school at night with no electricity in that weather; there was no sense of safety because people’s homes nearby were being washed away. We couldn’t be sure the building was not going to fall on us, but we had to be calm for the children.

“But they were panicking — it was a scary situation for us adults. Imagine the children — apart from their immediate danger most were worried about their families because they saw houses fall on people, and cars being washed away. They were very aware of the possible horror their families were going through.”

Hlengwa said they found some dry soccer kit for the pupils to wear.

“We called a tuck shop owner who sells to the children during break; we ate fries, russians and bread. We took off our jerseys and gave them to the children. A neighbour brought us eight blankets and the teachers used cardboard as blankets.

“I think I started witnessing real worry when they woke up still at school, still stuck, still unable to reach or ascertain the condition of their families,” Hlengwa said. “Our phones were running flat — we had a challenge to even communicate with the [provincial education] department, which was helping us and constantly checking up on us.”

Teachers found some rice and tinned fish to cook for the pupils, who had last eaten at around 4pm the previous day.

And all they could do was wait. It was not until 5pm that the first rescue helicopter landed.

“The first group left the school around 5pm — the helicopter could only take five per trip so even the evacuation took a while. But everyone was happy when help eventually came.

“We were all so happy that we would not be spending another night there because the situation was really untenable.”

More than 248 schools were damaged in the floods but Hlengwa is relieved his story had a happy ending and that he was able to save all of his charges from harm.

Imagine the children apart from their immediate danger most were worried about their families because they saw houses fall on people, and cars being washed away. They were very aware of the possible horror their families were going through

Siboniso Hlengwa, deputy principal