She was seen as a 'miracle baby' after being born in a tree which her mother had climbed to escape flooding, but nearly 26 years on Mozambican Rosita Salvador Mabuiango has died after a long illness, her sister told the BBC. The sight of the newborn and her mother being winched to safety by helicopter amid the deluged landscape became one of the defining images of the Mozambique floods of 2000 – the country's worst ever. Reflecting on Rosita's life, President Daniel Chapo described her as a symbol for girls in the country. In February 2000, hundreds died and hundreds of thousands of others were forced from their homes after the Limpopo river burst its banks in southern Mozambique. Rosita's mother, Carolina Cecilia Chirindza, was one of those caught up in the crisis. 'It was a Sunday afternoon about four o'clock, and the waters began rising,' she recalled. 'The water was coming right up to the house, and was getting stronger and stronger, so like everyone else in the village, we headed for the trees.' A South African military helicopter spotted Carolina in labor, rescuing both mother and daughter. Over the years, Rosita became a voice for the struggles in Mozambique, advocating for change after traveling to the US to raise awareness. Sadly, she succumbed to anemia after a prolonged struggle with health problems, sparking conversations about the need for better healthcare in Mozambique.