Two Women Survive Four Days Marooned

ZRP Sub-Aqua Unit Pulls Off Christmas Day Rescue

Itai Mazire

Two women who spent four gruelling days marooned between the flooded Shashe and Simukwe rivers in Sun-Yat-Sen were dramatically rescued on Christmas Day by the ZRP Fairbridge Sub-Aqua Unit.

National Police Spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the heroic rescue in Matabeleland South, describing it as a festive-season miracle that turned a near tragedy into an unexpected gift of life.

“On 25 December 2025, the ZRP Fairbridge Sub-Aqua Unit rescued two women, aged 48 and 23, who had been marooned at the confluence of the Shashe and Simukwe rivers in Sun-Yat-Sen. The victims had been trapped since 21 December 2025,” said Commissioner Nyathi.

In an unrelated incident, Commissioner Nyathi said two people a five-year-old boy and a 31-year-old man drowned in a two-metre-deep pit at Mzila Compound in Redcliffe, Kwekwe, on the same day.

“The child was reportedly playing near the pit with an empty two-litre plastic container that was floating in the water. In an attempt to retrieve the container, the minor fell into the pit and drowned,” he said.

“A 31-year-old man who was drinking beer nearby attempted to rescue the child but also fell into the pit and drowned.”

Commissioner Nyathi said the bodies of both victims were later retrieved by patrons from a nearby bar.

“The bodies were conveyed to Kwekwe General Hospital mortuary for post-mortem examination,” he said.