The rescuers had recovered around 700 dead tortoises so far, which Razafimamonjiraibe said were trapped by rocks and debris in the floods. ‘Tortoises are actually very good swimmers,’ he added.

Rescuers had recovered around 700 dead tortoises so far, which Mr Razafimamonjiraibe said had been trapped by rocks and debris in the floods. "Fortunately, most of the tortoises were able to float.