A man and his teenage children escaped tragedy on yesterday afternoon after their vehicle washed off a low-water bridge in End Street, Centurion in Pretoria.

Emergency services have for days been warning residents not to cross the area, which is prone to flooding after heavy rains.

Tshwane emergency services spokesperson Thabo Charles Mabaso says that his department received a report around 17:45 that ‘a family of three narrowly escaped drowning when the SUV they were driving in was washed off a low-water bridge’.

Emergency services arrived to find a white SUV had been washed away into the Hennops River.

“The End Street bridge was closed off to traffic with physical barriers and barrier tape around midday following the persistent rain being experienced in parts of Tshwane,” adds Mabaso.

He says the vehicle was empty and service members assumed the occupants had been swept away but they were found safe nearby.

He adds that the police confirmed that the owner and his two teenage children had escaped by swimming to safety.

Mabaso explains: “A member of the public alleges that the driver drove around the barricades used to close the road before his vehicle was washed away.

“This has been the second incident in the same area in two days. An Isuzu bakkie, which has still not been recovered from the Hennops River, was washed away on Saturday.”

Police are also still searching for five people reported to have been swept away by a stream in Olievenhoutbosch on Saturday.

Mabaso says the SAPS K9 Unit and divers will continue the search subject to safe conditions.

He adds that persistent rain has led to the flooding of informal settlements in Mamelodi, Atteridgeville, Soshanguve and Cullinan, as well as multiple roads across Tshwane – causing traffic disruptions.

“We call on motorists to exercise extreme caution when driving in rainy and wet conditions by reducing their speed, switching their headlights on and increasing following distances.

“Our repeated calls on motorists to desist from crossing flooded low-water bridges and ignoring barriers used to close roads during flooding seem to fall on deaf ears because we still see vehicles being washed away in regular spots. Behaving safely is everyone’s responsibility,” concludes Mabaso who reminds residents to dial the toll-free number 107 to report a fire or life-threatening emergency.