Chopper involved in relief efforts crashes

A government helicopter evacuating the last remaining people from a village cut off by flood waters in Namibia's northeastern Caprivi region crashed while taking off last week. "Fortunately, no one was hurt," Ndeutapo Amagulu, the deputy permanent secretary at the ministry of environment and tourism, told IRIN on Monday. The helicopter was evacuating 19 people from a school in Intoba in the Kabbe constituency, east of the provincial capital Katima Mulilo. It was the only helicopter being used to transport passengers in the relief operations. Large portions of eastern Caprivi have been submerged for the past two months in the worst floods since 1958. Just over 2,500 people have been relocated to four evacuation camps in Schuckmannsburg, Kabbe, Lusese and Impalila during the past few weeks. About 10,000 people have been affected by the floods. According to Amagulu, the loss of the helicopter "would not have a major impact on the rescue operation, as we have managed to move all the affected people out of the danger zones". Although floods have started to affect the southern constituencies of the Caprivi strip near Lake Liambezi, Amagulu said the authorities intended to move the affected people by boat. Food supplies and medicines are being transported by road or boat to the four evacuation camps.