By John Ikani
Authorities in Malawi are set to declare 537 individuals missing due to Tropical Storm Freddy, as dead.
The storm led to mudslides that swept through neighborhoods and tragically buried people alive.
Despite search efforts lasting 17 days, the head of the disaster management unit, Charles Kalemba, announced to reporters on Wednesday that the probability of finding the missing people alive was slim.
Kalemba described a heart-wrenching incident where an entire village was swept away by a mudslide, and despite police utilizing sniffer dogs, nobody could be rescued.
Consequently, the search operation in that area has been called off.
During a media briefing, Kalemba stated, “There are about 537 people still missing.
They would not be alive by now considering that it’s now about 17 days since they went missing.”
The military is still conducting search operations for the missing individuals, as confirmed by Major General Saiford Kalisha, the head of military operations.
President Lazarus Chakwera had earlier in a virtual summit on Tuesday, disclosed that over 600 Malawians had lost their lives due to the tropical storm.
According to him, the storm washed away more than 100,000 homes, leaving over half a million individuals homeless.
