Two fishermen have drowned in the Kafue River after a banana boat they were in was hit by a Hippopotamus, Monday.

Kafue UPND member of parliament Miriam Chonya, who rushed to the scene of the accident in the company of officers from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), confirmed the development to a local online newspaper, Kafue Times.

Chonya named the deceased as Clifford Shula, aged 37 of Soloboni Compound and Kafusha Mwape, 21 of Mtendere Township in Kafue District.

She complained about the increasing number of fishermen being attacked by Hippos on the Kafue river, saying over 15 people have died so far since January this year.

Chonya, however, assured Kafue residents that the DNPW would crop the Hippos that had been terrorising the fishermen in the area.

The bodies of the fishermen have since been retrieved from the river by fellow fishermen.