At least 18 drown in Benin boat accident
Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:35 GMT
* Most victims were children
* Boat was overloaded with passengers and goods
COTONOU, Dec 17 (Reuters) - At least 18 people, most of them children, drowned after the overloaded boat carrying them sank in a river north of Benin's commercial capital Cotonou, officials said on Monday.
The boat was taking passengers across the H??lou River to a market in the town of Togba when it capsized late on Saturday night.
"The boat that capsized had capacity for eight passengers but was transporting 27, their baggage and four motorcycles," the mayor of the nearby Abomey-Calavi district, Patrice Hounsou-Guede, told Reuters.
Benin's Interior Minister Benoit Degla suspended non-motorised traffic on the river pending an investigation into the tragedy.
Boat accidents are common in much of West Africa, where poor road conditions often make river travel the only viable means of transporting goods and passengers. Enforcement of safety regulations is often lax.
Around 20 school children drowned in October when an overloaded ferry sank on the Okpara River in northern Benin. (Reporting by Samuel Elijah; Writing by Joe Bavier)
Leave a comment:
IMPORTANT: Your comment will not appear immediately as we vet all messages before publication. We don't publish comments that are racist or otherwise offensive. Nor do we publish comments that advertise products or services. Please keep your comment concise and do not write in capitals.
Post a Comment
Post a Comment