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South African soldier dies, three missing during military exercise

    NAIROBI

    A South African soldier died and three others went missing on Friday during a water-training exercise in Burundi, the South African news agency, SAPA, reported, quoting the country's defence force.

    The South African Defence Force (SADF) announced in Pretoria that the soldiers were taking part in an airborne extraction exercise at a river near Bujumbura in the morning, SAPA reported. Ten of them, it said, were acting as victims in the water, waiting to be hoisted by a South African Air Force helicopter.

    "Six were safely extracted. The remaining four apparently disappeared under the water," SADF headquarters announced.

    Another South African soldier, also deployed to protect members of Burundi's government, was strangled to death earlier this year. Elvis Azwifarwi Makhado's body was found about six kilometres outside the capital, Bujumbura. He was off duty at the time.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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