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Morning News

A Hero's Thanks in Mozambique

Aired September 4, 2000 - 9:57 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to end this hour with a story about a special reunion.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Very special. Several days ago, a man who risked his life to save four boys from a raging flood got his reward.

Mark Austin now from Africa on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK AUSTIN, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): Like thousands of other people, 12-year-old Nelson de Silver (ph) and his family lost almost everything in the floods. Home is a tiny makeshift shaft. But Nelson knows he is one of the luckiest boys in Mozambique. Lucky that is, to be alive.

Back in February, an ITN camera caught the dramatic moment, Nelson and three other boys were in danger of drowning in the raging floodwaters. The South African air force winchman (ph) is lowered to try to pull them off the roof of the rapidly sinking car. He grabs one boy, but is unable to reach Nelson and two others behind him. They are desperate, but they cannot swim. They disappear under the helicopter, and then the winchman somehow emerges carrying all four boys.

We pull them into the helicopter and its thumbs-up to the man who saved him. Six month on, and the winchman Martin Randallhof (ph) accompanies us to the village of two of the boys for their first meeting since that dramatic day.

"Thank you, thank you," say the boys. And for the whole village, it is a celebration. Nelson introduces Martin to his mother, a moment she too has waited for.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is very happy to see the man who saved her son, to save the life from helicopter. So she is thanking you very much. You must go with the God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am happy to see them again. You don't usually see the people that you save. It's very nice to meet them.

AUSTIN: In one of the few houses that survived the floods, they watched pictures of the rescue. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was quite hair-raising towards the end because one little boy was slipping out of my hands, and I actually thought I was going to drop them, and I just thought in God's will that we managed to get them all in the chopper.

AUSTIN (on camera): Just in this area of Mozambique, more than 14,000 people were rescued by the South African air force, helicopter crews risking their lives to save others.

(voice-over): And now two boys, who were convinced they were going to die, have been able to say their thank yous in person.

Mark Austin, ITN, central Mozambique.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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