A man has drowned after jumping from a bridge into a river in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, to retrieve a $20 note that he mistakenly dropped.
According to police spokesman Moses Carter who spoke to the BBC, the man identified as Mr Tamba Lamine was walking with a friend on the bridge when the $20 note fell into the river.
Lamine, who is a street hawker then dived into the river and retrieved the money. After finding the money, he showed it to onlookers but then drowned, Carter explained.
Mr Carter said Lamine felt pressured to get the cash back because he needed to give his friend his $5 share of some merchandise they jointly sold.
According to Mr Carter onlookers who saw Lamine dive thought he was safe after he emerged from the water to show them the note, but he then disappeared and did not resurface.
Mr Lamine’s body has not yet been recovered, Mr Carter said.
He drowned in the Mesuradu River, which runs between mainland Monrovia and the industrial district of Bushrod Island.
