19 killed as canoe capsizes in Mali

AFP, BAMAKO: Nineteen people died when a big canoe capsized in central Mali, local authorities said yesterday, in the second major river accident in the poor west African nation in four months.
The vessel overturned Wednesday on a stretch of the Niger river passing through the town of Bangou, around 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the central city of Mopti, officials told AFP.
Oumar Sanke, of the Mopti civil protection department told AFP “19 people were killed, four are missing and 70 survived”. “The search and rescue continues. The death toll remains provisional because we do not know exactly how many passengers boarded the (canoe),” he added. A spokesman from the Mopti rivers authority said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the accident.

19 killed as canoe capsizes in Mali

AFP, BAMAKO: Nineteen people died when a big canoe capsized in central Mali, local authorities said yesterday, in the second major river accident in the poor west African nation in four months. The vessel overturned Wednesday on a stretch of the Niger river passing through the town of Bangou, around 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the central city of Mopti, officials told AFP. Oumar Sanke, of the Mopti civil protection department told AFP 19 people were killed, four are missing and 70 survived. The search and rescue continues. The death toll remains provisional because we do not know exactly how many passengers boarded the (canoe), he added. A spokesman from the Mopti rivers authority said an investigation was underway to determine the cause of the accident.