JAKARTA - A total of 10 migrants from Ethiopia drowned after the boat carrying them overturned while trying to illegally cross the Zambezi River from Zambia to Botswana.
Citing AFP, Wednesday, July 15, local police and immigration officials said in a joint statement that there were 15 migrants on the boat that eventually sank while crossing the Zambezi on Monday night.
At least 2 people were declared safe, 10 people are believed to have drowned, and 3 others are still missing.
Authorities identified the two survivors as Ethiopian men aged 33 and 35. They said the 33-year-old had no documents, while the 35-year-old had a passport but allegedly failed to report to immigration officers upon entering Zambia.
"At this stage, no bodies have been found, and reports of the drowning of 10 people have not yet been confirmed pending the results of the ongoing search operation," the joint statement by the police and immigration officials said.
Local migrants often use the river to evade official border posts across southern Africa.
AFP's report had documented the migrants' daring to use emergency rafts to cross the crocodile-infested Limpopo River from Zimbabwe to South Africa.
The Zambezi is the fourth longest river in Africa and flows through or along the borders of Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
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