Helicopter rescue for flood victims in Malawi
Jan 25, 2012, 2:19 PM
BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) – Local authorities say rescuers in military helicopters have plucked villagers to safety in flooded southern Malawi.
Nsanje District Commissioner Rodney Simwaka said Wednesday his southern region has been receiving heavy rains since last week. He says 2,500 people fled to high ground, but several thousand are marooned in flooded villages that are cut off because roads and bridges have been washed away.
Simwaka says that since the helicopter operation started Tuesday, 99 villagers have been rescued.
Simwaka says no deaths have been reported.
In neighboring Mozambique, also hit by heavy rains in recent days, state radio reports two bodies were found in flood waters in the central province of Zambezia Wednesday, bringing the total death toll to 24.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
