Last weekend’s heavy rains in parts of the country have claimed at least one life.

Pretoria police on Wednesday confirmed that a body found earlier this week matched the description of a young man who was swept away by the Hennops River, near Pretoria. 

Capt Dave Miller said the deceased was travelling with a friend on Saturday evening when they came across a low-water bridge, which was flooded, in the Hennops area.

“They attempted to turn, but their vehicle stalled,” said Miller.

The passenger - identified by the Pink Ladies group as Daniel Master - allegedly got out of the vehicle.

“Only the driver made it to safety,” said Miller.

Master was reported missing. On Sunday, various police and rescue units embarked on a search for him, but their efforts had to be abandoned because the flooded river was not safe.

“On Monday, the search continued. We were halfway through when police heard of a body found in the river on the Zwartkop golf course,” said Miller.

The body matched the description of the missing man.

Miller told SowetanLIVE's sister publication TimesLIVE on Wednesday that a post-mortem was yet to determine how Master died, saying he could have drowned or hit his head on rocks in the river.

He added that hours after Master was swept away, a bakkie driver found himself in trouble at the same bridge. Emergency workers were called in to assist the driver, who escaped unharmed.

Miller stressed that people who drive bakkies and 4x4 vehicles often believe that their vehicles can make it through dangerous stretches of road, but at times find themselves in trouble as their cars are not always equipped to deal with such conditions.

“We do understand that not everyone knows where the low-water bridges are, but pay attention to signs and don’t try to make it across. Rather find an alternative route,” he advised.