Zimbabwe: 11 drown in holiday boating accident

Hazare, (Zimbabwe): Zimbabwean state radio says 11 people died, most of them children, in a Christmas Day boating accident on a lake outside the capital.

The radio said today a pleasure boat capsized at Lake Chivero yesterday, drowning 11 of 19 people on board.

The children were on a holiday outing at the lake 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Harare and were aged between five and 14, it said.

The radio identified seven of the children by name.

The radio report also said a wildlife ranger at the lake died Saturday when his canoe overturned in rough weather.

The lake is also a conservancy, leisure resort and water-supply reservoir.

Boating accidents on the lake are largely blamed on poor enforcement of safety practices.

PTI