Residents of a Limpopo community in South Africa have been lauded  by the police after they bravely swam towards a policeman stranded in flood waters‚ rescuing him just before the van was swept away.

The 51-year-old police sergeant‚ attached to the Senwabarwana police station‚ was trapped in floodwaters along the Machaba-Avon Marobjana road at ga-Kgoshi Maleboho this week‚ the police said in a statement.

He was part of a team responding to a call about robberies in progress at two schools at Machaba village.

Due to the heavy rains in the area‚ the vehicle driven by the sergeant was trapped when the road he was travelling on flooded. He managed to climb on top of the vehicle‚ but had no means of escape.

The potential danger he faced was averted when the community came to the rescue.

The provincial commissioner of the police in Limpopo‚ Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba‚ thanked the rescuers.

“The cordial relationship that we have created and continue to strengthen between ourselves and community members was clearly manifested by these acts of bravery‚” said Ledwaba.

The investigation into the robberies has resumed‚ with a manhunt launched for the suspects.