/ 2 February 1999

SEARCH FOR STORM VICTIM

POLICE and army rescue teams are still having difficulty tracking a Northern Province man who disappeared when a mini-tornado hit the village of Mahlomelong near Tzaneen on Sunday night. Four villagers, including a three-month-old child, died in the storm when large rocks were dislodged from a nearby mountain and crushed their mud huts. Local police spokesperson Captain Thomas Ramatseba said on Tuesday that the storm also damaged two vital bridges in the area, making access to the region difficult. Army helicopters are being used to move food and other supplies into the area and also to search for the missing villager.