Ten suspected child laborers drowned when their boat capsized in Rwanda, police confirmed on Wednesday and added that investigators have taken the man believed to be responsible for employing them into custody for questioning.
Tragedy struck on Monday when a construction worker hired a group of 13 children, aged between 11 and 15 years, to accompany him on a journey across the Nyabarongo river in southern Rwanda.
An accident occurred during the voyage resulted in the death of some of the children.
“Ten dead bodies have been retrieved from the river… the rescue operation has closed today,” police spokesman John Bosco Kabera told media.
According to Kabera, three children managed to survive the incident, along with the man who hired them.
The man has been apprehended on suspicions of endangering children and involvement in child labor. Kabera further stated that investigations are ongoing.