Eleven people, among them children and a baby, have been reported missing after a hippopotamus overturned their boat in southwestern Ivory Coast, according to officials.
The country’s minister for national cohesion and solidarity, Myss Belmonde Dogo, revealed on her Facebook page that the victims included women, young girls and an infant.
She explained that the incident occurred on Friday when the animal caused the narrow, canoe-like vessel to capsize while it was traveling on the Sassandra River near the town of Buyo.
Dogo confirmed that three passengers were rescued alive, adding that “a search is ongoing in the hope of finding the missing victims.”
Ivory Coast is home to an estimated 500 hippos, most of which inhabit rivers in the southern region, particularly the Sassandra and Bandama waterways.
Boat mishaps are not uncommon in the country, as locally crafted longboats are a primary means of transport for riverine communities, often carrying more people and cargo than they safely should.
In April, another tragedy struck when around a dozen children and teenagers drowned after their boat capsized in a lagoon near Abidjan, the nation’s commercial hub.
Globally, hippos are considered among the most dangerous large animals. Estimates of human deaths linked to them vary, but conservative figures suggest at least 500 fatalities annually.