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Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System --------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 04 Aug 2006 Title: Trapped people rescued in Lesotho --------------------------------------------------------------- By Bongani Mlangeni, tel: (012) 341-2404 Eight people, trapped on a mountain in Lesotho, due to heavy snowfalls in recent days, have been rescued. Four South Africans and four Basotho were trapped on the Thaba 'Tseka Mountains in Lesotho, due to snowfalls in the area on Wednesday and Thursday. The SA defence force sent a rescue mission to that country on Friday morning to assist with the operation. Two of the stranded people reportedly kept in touch with the SA High Commission in Lesotho to help with their location. However, the SA High Commission said one person was hospitalised on Friday, following the rescue operation. "We are happy to have found those people trapped," said the commission's Mr Albert Warnich, adding that the weather was now clearing. Here at home, efforts are continuing to rescue people affected by heavy flooding in the Eastern Cape as roads that were impassable have now been opened. Only the N10 from Nanaga to Middelburg is still closed at Olifantskop Pass due to rockfalls. In the Western Cape, the provincial government is expected to fly over Mossel Bay and Plettenberg Bay. Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Nondumiso Maphazi visited Port Elizabeth on Thursday to assess the damage caused by the floods and also distributed blankets and food to displaced people. "I would like to encourage people to stay away from the flooded areas, and stay at the centres where they can receive food and blankets supplied by our relief efforts. I would like to meet with the Mayoral Committee soon to discuss ways of best managing natural disasters like this. "But I am convinced that the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality did its best to assist in this very difficult time," said Ms Maphazi. About 30 people were rescued from their vehicles or places near overflowing rivers. Municipal spokesperson Kupido Baron said a joint operation centre was set up where police together with the traffic department, the National Sea Rescue Institute and the disaster management officials from the municipality were working to handle incidents as they were being reported. In Knysna, mop-up operations started on Friday after the floods subsided. "This morning there was a little bit of rain but everything is getting back to normal. We have also started clearing the area to start repairing the damage," said Mike Eliot station commander for the NSRI. Two people died in Port Elizabeth, including a four-year-old child, after she and her mother were trapped in their car in an overflowing river. Rescuers managed to bring the mother to safety and she is in hospital. - Buanews |
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