Skip to Content

Babies found alive on Congolese lake after devastating floods kill hundreds

<i>STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock</i><br/>An aerial photo shows the damages brought by floods and landslides in Bushushu
STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
STR/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
An aerial photo shows the damages brought by floods and landslides in Bushushu

By Nimi Princewill, CNN

Two babies have been found alive on the shores of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Lake Kivu, days after floods and landslides killed more than 400 people in two villages in the country’s South Kivu province.

“Two babies including a boy of one month and two weeks and a girl of about two months were recovered alive,” a spokesperson for the DRC Red Cross, Kally Maluku, told CNN on Thursday.

One of the babies was pulled alive from the rubble near the lake by locals on Tuesday, Maluku said, adding that the other child was rescued on Saturday after being found floating on the lake.

“The boy had a fractured femur and a facial injury and the girl was safe,” Maluku said of the rescued babies, who were found in Bushushu and Nyamukubi villages that were both devastated by the floods. “The injured child lost his mother while the other child’s deceased mother and father are without trace.”

The death toll has continued to rise in Bushushu and Nyamukubi after heavy rainfall through last week caused rivers to overflow and created mudslides that devastated the villages.

Twenty-six more bodies were recovered on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 438, according to updated government figures. More than 1000 people are still reported missing.

Provincial governor for South Kivu, Theo Kasi, told CNN earlier in the week that rescue operations were ongoing in spite of the difficulties. “We are in a disaster. We work despite difficult conditions,” he said.

The provincial government also said it was relocating residents affected by the floods to safer sites and funding medical care for the injured, as well as funeral costs for the deceased.

The DRC is located within the River Congo Basin where flood disasters are frequently reported and it continues to grapple with devastating effects of flooding across the country.

At least 10 people were killed on Wednesday in another landslide in the country’s Lubero territory, in its North Kivu Province, authorities said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

Article Topic Follows: CNN - Europe/Mideast/Africa

Jump to comments ↓

CNN Newsource

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

KTVZ NewsChannel 21 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content