Airforce member injured trying to save
Date: 19 January 2012
The following is a rough translation from the Afrikaans Beeld newspaper:
A member of the Air Force is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a broken leg when he was trying to save five members of a family swept into a tree by the Blyde River flood waters.
According to Colonel Andre Barends, commander of Air Force Base Hoedspruit, is ao. Rorry Lawson (who swallowed river water) was in the Tzaneen Medi Clinic where his condition stabilised.
"Our members are here to save people and as Lawson showed, even endangered his life in the process," said Barends.
The five people trapped in the tree were saved by other Air Force and emergency service personnel from Phalaborwa Polokwane.
They were taken to the joint airforce police operational centre and emergency services for medical treatment, but were unharmed.
Barends said the air force had conducted 52 critical flood rescue missions in the past two days.
A pregnant woman was also rescued from a tree on Saturday after being stuck there for hours.
