A search and rescue team from the Malawi Defence Force has today recovered four bodies on Lusa River in Mchinji where 17 people went missing after the boat they were sailing in capsized yesterday in Mchinji District.
The 17 were amongst 22 people sailing on Lusa River, which lies between Traditional Authorities Mkanda and Dambe.
Five of the victims managed to swim to the shoreline and were rushed to Kapiri Mission Hospital in the border district.
Spokesperson for the Department of Disaster and Management Affairs (DODMA), Chipiriro Khamula, has said that the rescue team from Monkey Bay started its operations this morning.
A survivor of the accident Chrissy Govati, from Ngulukira Village TA Gumba to Malawi News Agency from her hospital bed at Kapiri Mission Hospital yesterday that boat which was being rowed across the river started sinking in the middle of the river and all the passengers on board started to drown.
An eyewitness, Mercy Chechibisa, told MANA that the boat sank because it could not take the weight of the 22 people and their belongings.
Follow us on Twitter:
