Maputo, 3 Apr (AIM) – At least 10 people have died and 23 others have been injured so far this year, after being attacked by crocodiles in the districts of Tambara and Vanduzi, in the central Mozambican province of Manica.
According to local residents, cited in the Wednesday’s issue of the independent paper “O País”, many of the cases took place when the victims were trying to fetch water from the rivers.
In Vanduzi district, the crocodiles killed four people and the six others died in Tambara.
“Crocodiles are threatening. A few days ago, a woman was attacked and last month a girl also disappeared when she was fetching water. So far this year, three people have died”, said a community leader named Sábado Lima.
According to another source who survived the attack, after an intense fight with the reptile, “I tried to make an effort. When the crocodile grabbed me, I squeezed its neck and pulled its tail away. Then I was flat on my back, it was late at night, and help arrived on a motorbike and took me to hospital.”
For his part, the provincial director of Environment and Territorial Development, Rafael Manjate, said that, in order to reduce the death toll from crocodile attacks in the rivers, the government will build at least two new water supply systems, reducing the need of local residents to fetch water from rivers.
(AIM)
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