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The Malian authorities say 72 people are now known to have died when a boat capsized a week ago on the River Niger. " latestarticlesbyiykemandela.blogspot.com Rescuers found the bodies of dozens more passengers after the boat was refloated, Mali's Security Minister Sada Samake said. He said 210 people survived the accident, in which the vessel broke up near Konna whilst en route north from the town of Mopti to Timbuktu. Eyewitnesses had said the boat was overloaded with cargo. "The rescue teams have been able to bring it to the surface," General Samake announced in a press conference reported by the French news agency, AFP. He said 72 had died, and there were 210 survivors, of whom 11 were lightly injured. Officials had previously said 39 people died in the accident. He thanked the French military for its help in providing a medical team after the accident. New safety measures The boat broke at the stern on a branch of the river near the village of Koubi. ...

Mopti - Twenty people died, including 15 young children, when a boat on the Niger river broke up overnight near the central Malian city of Mopti, officials said on Saturday, adding that another 23 people were missing. "We don't know yet why the boat broke up," Commander Dramane Diallo, from the rescue services, told AFP. "Investigations are under way. The boat broke at the stern" in a branch of the river near the village of Koubi, some 70km north of the regional capital Mopti, and 210 passengers survived the accident, he said. Senior civil protection official, commander Naman Keita, confirmed the latest toll, adding that 15 children aged under five were among the recovered bodies. The search for survivors and more victims was suspended overnight and would resume Sunday morning, he added. Diallo said the large dugout was also loaded with goods. No further details were immediately available. The governor of Mopti said the Malian rescue services were assisted...