A 45-year-old man drowned in Lungwena River at Chowe in Mangochi on Tuesday.
Police in the district have identified the victim as Chitonga Saidi.
Mangochi Police Station Sub-Inspector Amina Tepani Daudi said Chitonga slipped off and fell into the river when he was trying to cross the bridge whilst pushing his bicycle.
Daudi added that this happened as Chitonga was on his way back from Lungwena trading centre where he went to sell firewood.
“Well-wishers retrieved him from the water and rushed with him to Lungwena Health Centre where he was pronounced dead upon arrival,” she said.
Postmortem conducted by the medical practitioner at the same hospital revealed that Chitonga died due to suffocation.
Chitonga Saidi hailed from Village Kalanje in the area of Traditional Authority Chowe in Mangochi.
