A Malawian minister survived a boating accident while campaigning for elections at the weekend but six others including a baby died when their boat capsized in a remote northern area of Lake Malawi, police said on Sunday.
A senior officer at the Nkhata Bay Police Station told Reuters that Tourism, Parks and Wildlife Minister Wallace Chiume, who is also secretary general of the opposition Alliance for Democracy, survived the accident late on Saturday.
Gale force winds hit the north-western shores of the 365-mile (590 km) long freshwater lake - the third-largest in Africa - and overturned the Catamaran, tossing all 40 passengers and crew into the water about six miles (10 kms) from the shore, he said.
"The boat crew managed to radio a fisheries department outpost and us on the shore," the officer said.
Authorities sent boats to the scene and managed to rescue Chiume, who is the Member of Parliament for the area's constituency, along with others from the capsized vessel.
But six of the passengers, included a small baby, drowned and their bodies were recovered on Sunday morning.
Chiume's party has formed an alliance with the governing United Democratic Front, which is expected to win the election on May 18 when Malawi's 5.7 million voters elect a new president and a new parliament.
A former British colony, the southern African state is one of the world's poorest countries with most of its 11 million people living on less than $1 per day.