Contaminated water kills 16 in northern Zimbabwe: Radio

Sixteen people including nine children have died from drinking contaminated water in Zimbabwe's northern town of Chinhoyi, state radio reported Tuesday.

Sixteen people including nine children have died from drinking contaminated water in Zimbabwe's northern town of Chinhoyi, state radio reported on Tuesday.

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The report said that nine children had been "brought in dead from their homes", adding to seven people already dead from an outbreak of diarrhoea in the rural town, 115 kilometres (70 miles) northwest of Harare.

Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) quoted a medical official in the town as saying the diarrhoea was believed to have been caused by contaminated drinking water.

Several schools in the town have been affected by the outbreak of the water-borne disease, with one school reporting 50 children sick, ZBC added.

Zimbabwe is currently suffering from a shortage of foreign currency, needed to import the chemicals to properly treat municipal water supplies.