Locals on the island say that the search is being hindered by stormy weather, but that boats looking for signs of the swimmers that went missing on Monday are still visible.

The four young people went missing after they went on a boat trip to the Portuguese Island, adjacent to Inhaca Island, on Monday. Some of the group of eight went swimming and were swept away from the shore by a strong current. One person was saved by a boat but four of the swimmers have been missing since 15:00 on Monday.

Search parties have thus far been unsuccessful in locating them.

News of the missing young people was received when a Groblersdal resident asked for assistance on the DriveMoz Facebook group after she was approached by a neighbour, whose daughter managed to get a message out that her friends had gone missing.

Mozambican authorities, together with local residents there, have been searching via air and sea to try and find the missing group.

A video of the place where the four swimmers went missing, taken on Wednesday afternoon, shows rain clouds gathering.

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