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Article Body TextAddis Ababa, Ethiopia — <p>At least 19 people drowned when their boat sank in a river in Ethiopia's northern Amhara region Saturday, the region's official media said Sunday. </p> <p>"Seven people including a child were saved in difficult circumstances," the Amhara Media Corporation (AMC) added, quoting a local administrator.</p> <p>The boat was taking passengers across the Tekeze river, which runs along Ethiopia's border with Eritrea before it crosses into Sudan at the point where the three countries meet.</p> <p>Officials said that 26 people were estimated to have been on board the boat at the time of the accident at around noon (0900 GMT) on Saturday. </p> <p>Only two bodies have been recovered, AMC said, adding that those rescued had been taken to nearby hospitals. </p> <p>Media access to remote northern Ethiopia is heavily restricted by the authorities, with information often trickling in hours later. </p> <p>Amhara — Ethiopia's second most populous region — has been wracked for months by clashes between the Ethiopian military and an ethnic Amhara militia known as Fano.</p> <p>It was also caught up in the neighboring region Tigray's war, with its regional forces fighting alongside federal government troops against Tigrayan rebels.</p> <p>The boat accident is the second major incident in Ethiopia in recent days. On Monday, a landslide in the south killed over 250 people.</p>
Content TypeText
LanguageEnglish
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJuly 28, 2024 18:52 EDT
BylineAgence France-Presse
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
