Over 12 School Children Are Killed By Hippopotamus in Niger.

 

 

More than 12 school children and an adult have been killed on their way to school after a boat transporting them across a river was attacked and overturned by a hippopotamus.

It's believed the boat was flipped by the hippopotamus as it crossed the Niger River on Monday, killing most of the students on board as well as the adult, who are from the local village.

The exact death toll of the attack, which occurred near the Niger capital of Niamey, could not be confirmed until today.

 

number of students in the West African nation take such boats to attend school on the other side of the river. Aichatou Oumani, the minister of secondary education, told state television the children were aged 12 and 13. He said: 'Ultimately it was 12 students, including seven girls and five boys, who died after the attack.'

An earlier toll had spoken of two deaths, 11 missing and five survivors. At least 18 people were aboard the boat, mostly students. 'We have already given the order for the animal to be identified and killed,' Hassoumi Djabirou, governor of the Tillaberi region, said.

 

Game wardens shot dead a hippo last year after it killed a teenager in Niamey. Hippos with young in tow are the most aggressive, even attacking cattle that come to graze on the banks of the Niger River, experts say.

 

News Credit: UK DailyMail