Australian tourist missing in Zimbabwe

Consular assistance is being offered for the family of an Australian tourist who has gone missing in Zimbabwe's Victoria Falls National Park.

Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesman Tinashe Farawo told The Associated Press that the tourist went missing in the vast rainforest on Friday.

"We have a fully-fledged team that includes the police looking for the tourist. We have deployed sniffer dogs, drones and trackers on the ground," said Farawo.

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He said the tourist was 67 years old but did not share further details.

Such incidences are rare in Victoria Falls, a destination that attracts thousands of tourists from across the globe for its majestic water curtain that tumbles down more than 108 metres from the mighty Zambezi River to a gorge below, sending up a mist visible from miles away.

A few cases have been recorded in other parks.

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A German tourist who went missing in Matusadona National Park which teems with wild animals in northern Zimbabwe was found alive and in good health three days after he was reported missing in October last year.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian reported missing in Zimbabwe," a department spokesperson said.

"Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment."