Girl, 1, killed and student missing after deadly hippo attack as huge beast overturns canoe in river

A RAGING hippo has attacked a canoe and killed a one-year-old girl with another young student still missing. The canoe was carrying 18 farmers and children when it capsized in Kenya’s longest river following a violent assault from the huge hippo. A raging hippo has attacked a canoe and killed a one-year-old girl with another young student still missing Credit: Alamy The canoe was carrying 18 farmers and children when it capsized in Kenya’s longest river, the River Tana Credit: Alamy A routine crossing of the Tana River quickly turned tragic on Tuesday with 16 people quickly rescued from the water after the attack at Mikinduni Village. Police said the canoe capsized after a hippopotamus attacked the passengers. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! A 20-month-old girl drowned in the river while another passenger was unaccounted for when rescuers pulled everyone from the water. Police said the baby’s body was recovered and taken to the mortuary at Hola County Referral Hospital for a postmortem exam. Officials believe the missing child is a Form Three student which in Kenya would make the girl aged 16 or 17. The Chanani Secondary School student is still yet to be found. Hippo attacks are common in the area despite regular crossings taking place at Tana River. It comes just days after terrifying footage showed a hippo charging at a boat packed with tourists. Most read in The Sun Viral footage captured the heart-stopping moment the massive beast suddenly gave chase in Botswana, forcing the fleeing boat to speed away. The person filming the chilling encounter said: “For a few moments, every single person in the boat was genuinely worried.” Another described the moment as “one of the most terrifying moments he’d ever experienced”. Hippos kill an estimated 500 people each year in Africa. This makes them one of the world’s deadliest land mammals and more dangerous than lions and elephants to humans. Comment now