At least 19 people died when their boat sank in a river in Ethiopia's southern Amhara region on Saturday (27/7), media officials in the region said on Sunday (28/7).
“Seven people including one child were rescued in difficult circumstances,” Amhara Media Corporation (AMC) added, citing a local official.
The boat took passengers across the Tekeze river, which runs along Ethiopia's border with Eritrea, before crossing into Sudan at the point where the three countries share a common border.
Officials said 26 people were believed to have been on board the boat when the accident occurred around noon Saturday. Only two bodies have been recovered, the AMC said, adding that those rescued have been sent to a nearby hospital.
Media access to remote areas of northern Ethiopia is severely restricted by authorities, with information sometimes arriving hours later.
Amhara – Ethiopia’s second most populous region – has been devastated for months by fighting between the Ethiopian military and an Amhara ethnic militia known as Fano. They are also caught up in the Tigray war in the neighbouring region, where their regional forces are fighting alongside federal government troops against Tigrayan rebels.
The boat accident is the second major incident in Ethiopia in recent days. On Sunday, a landslide in the south killed more than 250 people. (ns/time)
