The man had been stuck there for about 24 hours and seemed to be moments away from being swept off his precarious foothold on a rock in the raging Lurio River.
A South African Air Force helicopter crew has dramatically plucked a civilian to safety from the middle of a swollen river in Mozambique's flooded Cabo Delgado province.
The man had been stuck there for about 24 hours and seemed to be moments away from being swept off his precarious foothold on a rock in the raging Lurio River when SAAF Sergeant Raphiri was hoisted down from a hovering Oryx helicopter to lift him to safety last Friday.
Cabo Delgado has been hit by Cyclone Freddy which has been devastating Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar.
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The Oryx helicopter was piloted by Major JA Augustyn. The aircraft and its crew are deployed in Cabo Delgado province as part of the regional Samim -- Southern African Development Community Mission in Mozambique, which has been trying to eliminate an Islamic State-affiliated insurgency there since July 2021.
A local man was trapped on a rock (top and above) as he was trying to cross...