ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — At least 19 people died in a boat accident in Ethiopia’s war-torn region of Amhara, according to the Ethiopian Press Agency.
The incident happened Saturday as a group of 26 was traveling to a funeral on a homemade wooden vessel on the Tekeze River, near Ethiopia’s border with Eritrea.
Efforts are underway to retrieve the victims’ bodies, with only two recovered so far, according to the Ethiopian Press Agency. There was no comment from Ethiopian authorities Monday.
The Tekeze is a gateway for illegal migrants and civilians escaping conflict in Amhara and the neighboring region of Tigray.
At the peak of the Tigray civil war, thousands of Ethiopians crossed to Sudan using the river. Boats regularly capsize on the river as smugglers transport illegal migrants to the Gulf of Aden and onwards to the Middle East and Europe.
Refugees often report sighting dead bodies floating on the river.
An ongoing conflict in Amhara, pitting Ethiopian federal forces against an Amhara nationalist group known as FANO, has escalated the displacement of civilians. Many have been embarking on risky migrations to escape the violence.
The boat accident happened as Ethiopians mourn the deaths last week of at least 257 people in mudslides in a remote part of the country’s south. Lawmakers declared a three-day period of national mourning that began on Saturday.
