Local authorities reported Tuesday that a baby died and 23 people were missing when a boat crashed with a hippopotamus on a river in southern Malawi.
According to Nsanje district police spokesperson Agnes Zalakoma, the canoe was carrying 37 passengers across the Shire River when it capsized on Monday morning.
Locals rescued 13 individuals from the surging floods, while 23 people were still missing as of Tuesday.
She also claimed that rescuers discovered the lifeless corpse of a one-year-old infant who perished in the crash and that the search for the missing was ongoing.
The Shire River is the largest river in Malawi.
Boat accidents are common in this country where the lack of regular river transport leads many people to cross lakes and rivers on boats that are sometimes in poor condition, due to the lack of regulations in this sector.
Last month, at least five people died when an overcrowded boat sank in the central district of Mchinji.