One person dies in South African snow traffic back-up

JOHANNESBURG: A woman died after being stuck overnight in one of scores of vehicles trapped in unusually heavy snowfall in South Africa with traffic still backed up for around 30-kms on Sunday, nearly two days after the first people were stranded, authorities said.

Cars, buses and trucks became stuck in heavy snow on Friday in the east of the country with the key N3 route linking Johannesburg and the east coast city of Durban one of the roads most severely affected.

A 39-year-old woman died from hypothermia in hospital on Saturday after spending Friday night with other passengers in a minibus taxi stranded by the weather, Midlands EMS emergency services operations manager Roland Robertson told AFP.

The travellers had been stopped near the town of Mooiplaas about 430-kms from Johannesburg.