Malawi: collision between a boat and a hippopotamus, 1 dead and 23 missing

A baby has died and 23 others are missing after a boat collided with a hippopotamus on a river in southern Malawi, local police said Tuesday.

The canoe was carrying 37 people across the Shire River when it capsized on Monday morning, Nsanje district police spokeswoman Agnes Zalakoma told AFP.

Thirteen people were rescued from the raging waters by locals, and 23 remained missing on Tuesday, she added.

Rescuers also found the lifeless body of a one-year-old baby who drowned in the wreck, she said, adding that the search for the missing was continuing.

The Shire River is the largest river in Malawi.

Boat accidents are common in this country where the lack of regular river transport leads many people to cross lakes and rivers on boats that are sometimes in poor condition, due to the lack of regulations in this sector.

Last month, at least five people died when an overcrowded boat sank in the central district of Mchinji.