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10 stranded on Zim island
14/01/2008 10:14 - (SA)
Harare - Ten people, including two children, have been marooned on an island in a flooded river in Zimbabwe for five days, say reports.
The 10 were trapped on the island in the middle of the Mutirikwi River in Zimbabwe's southern Masvingo province late last week, said the state-controlled Herald newspaper.
Hopes were high that the air force of Zimbabwe would send a helicopter to rescue the stranded villagers, police spokesperson Phibion Nyambo said.
He said: "So far they have not been able to do so because of bad weather." Rising water levels had also hampered rescue efforts by fellow villagers.
Record rainfall across Zimbabwe in December swelled rivers, resulting in floods that had displaced hundreds of families, destroyed homes and swept away livestock in low-lying districts in northern and south-eastern Zimbabwe. At least 32 people were known to have died.
Early this month, two girls were reported marooned on an island on a river in Sanyati, Mashonaland West province. There had been no further news on their fate.
Many of the rivers that rose in Zimbabwe flew on down through Mozambique, where tens of thousands of people had been affected by floods.
Sapa-dpa
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