Nearly 80 children have died in an Eastern Cape district due to unsafe tap water and authorities have failed to take any action, the Daily Dispatch Online reported on Tuesday.

Despite evidence of a lethal epidemic in the Ukhahlamba District Municipality (UKDM), which included the towns of Barkly East, Maclear, Sterkspruit and Elliot, municipal authorities had not yet issued a public warning. Breakdown in water purification works

An official health report indicated that there had been a breakdown in a water purification works in October last year and called for urgent action, but no action has been taken, the report said.

The babies had died from diarrhoea and other complications.

The health report, only tabled last week at a closed council meeting, recommended urgent action, including declaring an emergency in the area to save further lives, but this was not done, the Dispatch reported.

The UKDM's municipal manager, Zolile Williams, blamed the Cloete Joubert Hospital in Barkly East for the high number of deaths, saying it had failed to report them in time for a proper investigation.

He said the hospital had not conducted tests on stool samples, eliminating any chances of locating the cause of death.

However, a senior hospital manager, who asked not be named, said they had informed the municipality but nothing was done until 15 deaths were reported.