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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
FIVE siblings aged between four and 18 years who were home alone fled to safety in the middle of the night when their house collapsed during heavy rains. The incident occurred in Tshabroma Village, Mbimba area in Bulilima District. The siblings aged four, eight, 12, 15 and 18 years were alone at their homestead when the incident happened last Wednesday at around 1AM.

Area councillor, Zoolakes Nyathi, said it is suspected that the house collapsed due to heavy rains as it was located in a flood plain. He said the rains that have persisted for several days were likely to destroy more homesteads in the area.

Sibusiso Nkomo, 12, said they were sleeping in two separate houses at the time of the incident. “I was sleeping in a separate house with my two sisters and my two brothers were in another room. At the time we went to sleep it was raining and in the middle of the night we heard my brother calling out telling us that the house was collapsing.

“The wall fell to the ground while we were inside but we were not injured. We fled from the house in the darkness and sought refuge at my grandmother’s house. Our parents weren’t around as they had gone to Bulawayo. The whole incident left me frightened,” said the girl.

She said they returned home the following morning to find that all the food had been spoilt by the rains.