More than 20 people have gone missing after their canoe capsized following an encounter with a hippo on the Shire River in the southern Nsanje region in Malawi.
State-owned MBC TV reported a senior official in Nsanje District, Robert Nayeja stating that the canoe was carrying about 37 people going to their fields on the Mozambican side when the mishap happened.
Rescuers recovered the body of an infant and 12 other persons, who was among the passengers. Agnes Zalakoma, a senior police officer said the death toll is likely to rise as detectives and emergency teams search for the missing people.
The boat mishap is the third deadly accident on the river in three years. The river is said to be heavily infested with crocodiles and hippos and the boats operating there were not motorboats.
Malawi is recovering from a distressing tropical storm that killed 511 people and left 533 others missing in March.
