South Africa has responded positively to a request for emergency humanitarian assistance by the Mozambican Government, following the devastating floods between Massinga and Mambane on the Mozambican coast.
A unit of the Special Task Force of the South African National Defence Force(SANDF) will leave today for Mozambique to make an assessment of the disaster area. Once this assessment has been made the full extent of the relief operation will be made known.
Media reports of large numbers of South African tourists in the region have not yet been substantiated because of the inaccessibility of the disaster area.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
PRETORIA
3 MARCH 1999