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COVANE LODGE STAFF SAVE 40 LIVES IN FLOODS IN MOZAMBIQUE
24th January 2013
Late afternoon on Monday, 21st January 2013, Salomão Baloie, manager of Covane Lodge on the Massingir Dam received a desperate phone call from local officials after sluice gates had been opened to alleviate the bulging dam following floods, that a number of people were stranded in trees just outside the Massingir Dam wall. The call he received at around 4pm was quickly responded to as the only lodge in the area with a boat.
“I was afraid but knew I had to save their lives”, said Salomão who has been managing the lodge since August 2012. After receiving the call, he immediately sent the lodge boat out to Chingueze (Dos Elephantes) in Letaba just outside the Massingir dam wall, armed with just two lanterns, and a local community member.
When he arrived, he saw around 40 people including children and a pregnant woman, strewn and stranded in trees with the river raging below. As he was approached the first few trees tackling large waves, the boat spun three times as he tried to get the boat in the correct direction. The next six hours was spent rescuing people. One woman was heavily pregnant and once rescued and safely on the ground, she went straight into labour and delivered a little baby boy on the river bank.
Everyone was saved thanks to the courageous efforts of Salomão who after this epic rescue operation, has been hailed as a local hero.
Covane Lodge is situated just 12km outside the village of Massingir near the wall of the Massingir Dam on the southern border of Mozambique’s Parque Nacional do Limpopo perfect for guests travelling through the Giriyondo Border to the coast. The dam, the second largest in Mozambique, extends 40km into the Elefantes Gorge, opening up the ideal opportunity for boating safaris in the most exquisite surroundings. These excursions are popular among our guests where they get to see pods of hippo, crocodiles – not too close - as well an extensive array of birdlife.
Covane Lodge offers comfortable, rustic accommodation for adventure seekers and avid fishermen. Covane Lodge is owned by the local Canhane community and is commercially managed by Barra Resorts. It’s a place that sweeps you up into the comforting embrace of unspoiled nature, offering a range of Mozambique accommodation - from camping to houseboats to luxurious, lake view chalets and self-catering bush huts; you’ll find your little piece of heaven right here.
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For further information contact:
Carrie Boshoff
Marketing Manager
Barra Resorts
+27 11 023 9901
+27 74 365 7595
carrie@barraresorts.com
www.barraresorts.com
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