Reports from northern Ethiopia indicate that at least 12 people have drowned after their boat sank in the Amhara region.
The wooden vessel was transporting passengers to a funeral across the Tekeze River, which runs along Ethiopia’s border with Eritrea.
The boat was struck by a flash flood and capsized on Saturday.
It is believed that 26 people were on board when the accident occurred.
The survivors were taken to hospital for treatment, reports the Amhara Media Corporation (AMC), including a “severely wounded” child.
It was not yet clear on Sunday if all the bodies of those who died had been recovered from the water.
Work on an out-of-use bridge spanning the Tekeze River was scheduled to be completed last month but has been delayed, a local official told AMC.
Media access to northern Ethiopia is heavily restricted by authorities.
The region has recently experienced clashes between the military and an ethnic Amhara militia known as the Fano.