Miracle in flood: two babies rescued after three days adrift in the lake

Days after floods that killed more than 400 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, two babies have been rescued from being washed up on the shores of Lake Kivu.

According to the news reported by the Turkish BBC, local official Delphin Birimbi said: “This is a miracle, we are all fascinated.” Birimbi added that his parents died, but they were in contact with people who could raise the babies.

It is unclear how the babies survived in the lake for three days, but eyewitnesses said they were swimming over debris in the water. The babies, who were rescued on Monday, were found in one of the worst-affected villages, Bushu, and the other in Nyamukubi.

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE LOST

After the disaster, the death toll rose as more bodies were found in the mud, while local authorities said identification was difficult as some of the dead were street traders, not village residents. Birimbi said more than 5,000 people were still missing and “rescue efforts are continuing.”

Local NGOs reported that 200 injured were in clinics and a hospital, 1,300 houses, numerous schools, health facilities, churches and water infrastructure were destroyed.

Heavy rains in the region had previously killed more than 130 people in neighboring Rwanda.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the flooding is another indicator of accelerating climate change. Many factors play a role in flooding, but warming of the atmosphere due to climate change increases the likelihood of extreme rainfall.