At least 19 people drowned when their boat sank in a river in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region on Saturday, according to the region’s official media. The Amhara Media Corporation (AMC) reported on Sunday that “seven people, including a child, were saved under difficult circumstances,” citing a local administrator.
The boat was transporting passengers across the Tekeze river, which flows along Ethiopia’s border with Eritrea and into Sudan where the three countries converge. Officials estimated that 26 people were on board when the accident occurred around noon (0900 GMT) on Saturday. So far, only two bodies have been recovered, and the rescued individuals have been taken to nearby hospitals, AMC said.
Media access to remote northern Ethiopia is heavily restricted by authorities, resulting in delayed information. The Amhara region, Ethiopia’s second most populous, has been plagued for months by clashes between the Ethiopian military and the ethnic Amhara militia known as Fano. Additionally, the region was involved in the neighboring Tigray war, with its forces fighting alongside federal troops against Tigrayan rebels.
