Fishermen drown in Lake Malawi, two survive
By Stanley Nkhondoyachepa – Mana.
Two fishermen were found dead last weekend while two others survived when the boat they were sailing in capsized after being blown by a storm in Nkhotakota District.
According to one of the survivors, 42- year-old Fackson Tamimo, it was on Tuesday last week when strong winds blew their boat forcing it to capsize.
He said he, together with his friends held on to the boat to save their lives.
On the day, four people: Fackson Tamimo, Blaim Bonusu, Momadi Mussa and Abedi Zibelu, all from Kapanga 1 Village in Traditional Authority Kalimanjira in the district, went for fishing when they met their fate.
“Unfortunately one of us gave up too soon while we tried to swim ashore before the second, Blaim Bonusu, gave up too.
“Myself and a colleague, Momadi Mussa held on to the boat and in my wisdom, I decided to wave a cloth in the sky to alert some people on our predicament and luckily, some fishermen spotted us and came to our rescue,” he said.
A visit by Malawi News Agency to Kapanga 1 Village in the late afternoon of Friday found hundreds of mourners in the village waiting for the body of Abedi Zibelu which was found late on the day. Minutes later, the body of the fallen fisherman arrived amid wailing by the villagers.
The body of Blaim Bomusu was also found on Saturday at Bondo Fishing ground in the district.
Village Headman Kapanga 1 has bemoaned continued incidences of drowning by fishermen in the village, saying that was not the first time such an incident had occurred in the village.
Mana/sbn/fm
