Mozambique: Croc kills 11-year-old girl, sister survives

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Mozambique: Croc kills 11-year-old girl, sister survives

7:57 CAT | 11 Jan 2024

File photo: Rádio Moçambique

An 11-year-old child has died after being attacked by a crocodile while fetching water from the Vanduzi river in Manica province, central Mozambique, a police source told Lusa on Tuesday.

The attack took place on Friday, at around 5.30 p.m. (3.30 p.m. in Lisbon), in the district of Vanduzi, said Mateus Mindú, spokesman for the Republic of Mozambique Police (PRM) in Manica, noting that this is the first case recorded this year.

According to the local press, the child was with her sister, also a minor, who tried to save her, but to no avail.

“I tried to pull her hand away, but the crocodile tried to attack me too and I went home to warn the family,” said the victim’s sister, quoted by the private channel STV.

Incidents involving wild animals are common in rural areas in Mozambique and riverbanks carry an increased risk.

The crocodile is one of the animals that causes the most fatalities every year in Mozambique, having been responsible for 76 deaths in 2020, according to data from the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC) on recorded incidents – many of which go unreported.

According to the organisation, crocodiles killed the most people in February, January and December, the months of the rainy season, which in Mozambique runs from October to March.

Source: Lusa