It appears there are currently four SA Air Force (SAAF) helicopters flying search and rescue (SAR) sorties in Mozambique as South Africa’s eastern neighbour bears the brunt of continued heavy rain.
The first rotorcraft was dispatched to Mozambique on Sunday 18 January with three more – seemingly from 15 Squadron, the lone inhabitant of Air Force Base (AFB) Durban – flying north on Tuesday.
The helicopters – an Oryx medium transport and a pair of Agusta A109 light utility rotorcraft – had by Wednesday 21 January brought 224 people to safety from flooded areas following a reconnaissance sortie over the Palmeira area of the country’s Maputo province. The professionalism of the South African helicopter flight crews was put to the test during rescue sorties in ongoing rain and poor visibility.
The helicopter deployment is part of a disaster relief effort provided for by the standing SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Joint Operations Division tasking Operation Chariot. SAAF Corporate Communication Officer, Major Lebogang Phakathi, has it the mission is also part of a SAAF commitment to regional stability and co-operation under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) framework.
The flooding in South Africa’s eastern neighbour was, according to Phakathi, triggered by heavy rains starting in mid-December and intensifying in January. Mozambique’s central and southern provinces, including Maputo, Gaza and Zambezia, were worst hit.
There was, at the time of publication, no indication from the SANDF Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC) as to whether two 17 and 19 squadron rotorcraft were still flying SAR sorties in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Those aircraft along with aircrew and ground support personnel were activated during the 12 to 16 January week when parts of both provinces were subjected to torrential rain, with one report of 400 mm falling in a 24-hour period.
One of the A109 rescue missions last week involved it flying back and forth five times to and from the Khambaku Lodge near Phalaborwa, rescuing 18 people trapped by flood waters on 14 January. The rescue was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Stefan King, with Major Peter Rabie as co-pilot and Sergeant Sicelo Mponthsane as flight engineer. King and his crew continued rescue operations in Giyani on the next day, rescuing people from rooftops and trees.
The SANDF also sent a larger Oryx helicopter from 17 Squadron in Pretoria to Hoedspruit to aid in search-and-rescue operations on Thursday 15 January.
Captain Bubele Dumisani Vuma Zote reported for the SANDF that an Oryx was used on 16 January to airlift rations and others supplies from the Macadamia Operational Base to the Sandriver Operational Base after flooding in the area cut off all road access. Soldiers at these bases are deployed on border patrol duties under Operation Corona.
South African Police Service and SANParks helicopters have also been used to rescue people affected by the flooding, which in South Africa has killed two dozen people and caused damage estimated at around R4 billion. Over 100 people have died in Mozambique, and nearly 200 000 affected by flooding there.
