Western Cape police have confirmed that the body of a 24-year-old woman from Rawsonville, who was swept away by a swollen river in Slanghoek on Saturday, has been found.

Spokesperson Frederick Van Wyk say the woman, whom he has identified as Julian van Wyk, was crossing a low-water bridge with her 19-year-old sister around 14:15. They were then caught by a powerful current, intensified by recent heavy rainfall.

While her younger sister managed to reach safety, Julian was carried away by the stream.

The incident was reported, and a missing person docket was opened with Worcester police. The search for the woman then commenced on Saturday.

But due to the severe weather over the weekend, the search was temporarily called off.

“Emergency personnel and police were despatched to the scene, but rough conditions hampered their efforts,” said Van Wyk.

The search continued along the Slanghoek River on Monday morning. Later that day, at around 16:15, police divers located a body matching Julian’s description about two kilometres from where she was swept away.

A formal identification is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Van Wyk confirmed that the Department of Social Development has been contacted to arrange counselling for the traumatised family.

In a post on social media, Rural activist Billy Claasen shared condolences with those affected.

“May her soul rest in peace and now her family can also find peace. This is very traumatic for the entire family.”

He further criticised the handling of the search and the treatment of the family.

“It is also not right that one has to fight for resources every time to look for our poor people in such situations. I had to talk to Ministers and Senior SAPS people to get support there. If it was a tourist, all the resources would have been made available. This must end. Up until this moment, Social Services were not even there for Trauma Counseling,” said Claasen.

According to Claasen, the family also lost their mother earlier this year.

“It was also exactly 4 months ago yesterday that they lost their mother. The sister is severely traumatised and can hardly speak,” he said.

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This article has been updated to include additional information and official confirmation from the Western Cape police.