Ethiopia;19 feared dead as boat capsizes in northern

At least 19 people are feared dead in Northern Ethiopia on Saturday when a boat sank in a river, official media reported on Sunday.

The boat with 26 people on board capsized on the way from the Amhara regional district of Sahala to Zquala.

Seven people, including a child, were saved under difficult circumstances, while the rest are feared dead, the Amhara Media Corporation reported, quoting a local official.

“So far, only two bodies have been recovered,” Ato Sisay Biru, an official at the Sahala district, was quoted as saying.

Such accidents happen as people take boats to travel because the Sahala-Zquala steel bridge on the Tekeze River has been out of service for four years. Its repair took longer than expected, according to Biru.

One of the largest rivers and a tributary to the Nile River, the Tekeze is a trans-border river flowing through the Amhara region of Ethiopia and joining the Atbarah River in Sudan.