A girl aged 12 saved her three-year-old sister in Saturday’s landlisde at Tcharo in Rumphi.
The girl, Thank Kondowe, freed her sister’s leg from under a stone and held her for two hours during the landslide which left three people dead, nine injured and five missing.
According to Thank, a big stone that descended from Mphompha Hills trapped her mother.
Joyce, the three-year-old sister, was also lying helpless with her legs stuck under a stone.
“I tried to pull my mother off the stone, but the task was too big for me. My mother advised that I take Joyce to safety.
“I tried to move Joyce to safety, until I got stuck too. Luckily, there was a hard rock close where I put Joyce and held her for two hours,” Thank said.
Thank has since been admitted at Rumphi District Hospital while Joyce is hospitalized at the David Gordon Memorial in Livingstonia, Rumphi.
Medical personnel at the two institutions said their conditions have tremendously improved.
However, Thank’s mom and 10-year-old sister Stargate Kondowe went missing following the landslide which was caused by heavy rains.
Meanwhile, a search and rescue team is still on the ground to trace the whereabouts of the missing people.
The Department of Disaster Management Affairs has since provided food and non-food relief items to the affected people, through the district council. The items include maize flour, plastic cups, plastic plates, plastic buckets, soya pieces and dried vegetables.
Government, through DoDMA, has also provided financial support towards funeral arrangements for the deceased and to cover medical expenses for the injured.
