A one-year-old child has died and 23 people are missing after a hippopotamus capsized a canoe on a river in Malawi, Africa.
Key points:
- The canoe was carrying 37 people across the Shire River
- Local police rescued 13 people from the incident
- Locals said hippos often caused problems in the area
On Tuesday (local time), local authorities said a long wooden canoe was carrying 37 people across the Shire River, on their way to Mozambique, when it was hit by a hippo in the Nsanje district on Monday.
Nsanje District Police Commissioner Dominic Mwandira said Malawian police rescued 13 people with the help of World Food Program personnel, who were working in the area and provided boats for the rescue operation.
Malawian police spokesperson Agnes Zalakoma said they fear the 23 missing people are dead because the search had been going on for more than 24 hours.
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera sent Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Mia to the scene. Ms Mia said locals told her hippos often caused problems in the area and they wanted authorities to relocate some of the animals.
AP
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