Three people died and two were seriously injured as a result of five alligator attacks, which occurred this year alone in the province of Cuando Cubango, deputy fire chief Albano Cutarica revealed yesterday to the newspaper OPAÍS
The head of the Institutional Communication and Press Office of the Civil Protection and Fire Service (SPCB), in that province, said that the victims were attacked when they were bathing or carrying out domestic activities in the Cuvango and Cuito rivers. The fire officer, who lamented the deaths, considered that such events have occurred, in most cases, due to the negligence of the people.
For the third deputy fire chief, the cases registered this year — which is in its first weeks — are due to the fact that residents ignore the protection measures established by local authorities, in order to not leave them vulnerable to animals.
The SPCB spokesperson in Cuando Cubando also highlighted that several metal anti-alligator fences have been implemented in the various rivers that bathe the province, in addition to water holes, bathhouses and community laundries, in order to prevent people from coming into contact with direct with freshwater course.
However, he explained that, for no plausible reason, they ignore precautionary measures and prefer to face the risks of being fatally attacked by the animal. Given the severity of the injury, the victims who survived the attack had to have one of their lower limbs amputated.