Sadly, the body of a fifth child has been recovered from the sludge in the dam.

Most of the dam, which the bakkie crashed into yesterday, has been drained. However, the dam, which was used as a sludge dam, has a thick mud sediment that the bakkie is now lodged in. Initial attempts to have a TLB lift the bakke failed. The TLB is now being used to scoop the mud away from the bakkie and a high-pressure water hose is being used to loosen the mud’s suction effect to try and free the bakkie out of the mud.

The exact number of children who were onboard the vehicle is not known and the search is continuing, as there are children who have been reported missing by parents.

The number of children transported to hospital has been confirmed at 24 and not the 25 initially reported.

The search and rescue crews, especially those from the SAPS, have been working hard all day.

“We would like to send our utmost condolences to the families who have lost children in this horrific accident, a loss which words can’t describe or soothe the anguish the loved ones of these children must be feeling. It truly was a sad day,” said KZN EMS spokesperson Robert Mckenzie.