Blantyre, Malawi - A hippo attacked a canoe carrying women and children back from an excursion to buy fish at a nearby island, drowning 11 people in Lake Malawi.
When the dug-out canoe was within 3km of shore, the hippo rose from the water and capsized the vessel, police spokesperson George Chikowi said on Sunday.
The women, many of whom had babies strapped to their backs, were thrown into the lake.
Five women, five children and the man who was steering the canoe drowned. Three women - including one with a two-year-old child strapped to her back - managed to swim to shore in the central district of Nkhota Kota, where they were sent to a hospital.
The attack happened on Saturday as the passengers were returning from a shopping trip to Nyamvu Island, about 60km from the shore.
Fishing is the main source of income in Nkhota Kota. Men usually set up makeshift villages on islands in the huge lake in the southern African country, and women buy the fish and take them to shore.
The lake has large populations of hippos and crocodiles, but they rarely attack boats. - Sapa-AP