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Migrants feared drowned

Pretoria: Zimbabwean and South African police called off the search on Thursday for 60 Zimbabweans feared drowned when they tried to cross the Limpopo river to enter South Africa illegally. Helicopters, divers and foot patrols searched for two days along the swollen river near Dite village, about 40 km from Beitbridge, the main border post to South Africa. Dite residents told officials they saw the large group trying to cross the river, which is currently a raging torrent because of heavy rains. The group held hands to form a human chain, but the surging current swept them away, according to witnesses. Zimbabwe's state newspaper, the Herald, said the number of dead could be as high as 60. The Limpopo river is teeming with crocodiles, which could have taken several of the missing. Others may have been washed down the river to Mozambique. Thousands of desperate Zimbabweans cross the border to South Africa each week, fleeing food shortages, unemployment and state repression, according to human rights groups.

- Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006

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