Street vendor drowns while retrieving fallen money from river

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A street vendor drowned after trying to recover a $20 (about P960) bill he dropped in a river in Monrovia, Liberia.

Tamba Lamine was walking with a friend on a bridge above the Mesuradu river when the note fell, as per BBC yesterday, Oct. 6. He earned the money after jointly selling items with his companion.

Lamine then jumped into the river since he still needed to give his friend $5 of the profit, police spokesman Moses Carter said.

A crowd eventually gathered on the bridge to watch Lamine as he looked for the bill. Moments later, the vendor managed to retrieve the note and showed it to the bystanders.

However, he disappeared under the water’s surface again and did not come out of the water. Authorities have yet to find Lamine’s deceased body, as per report.

The United States dollar is a stronger currency than Liberia’s own dollar, which makes locals desperate to hold onto them. According to the foreign exchange company Xe, $20 amounts to around 3,900 Liberian dollars. Ryan Arcadio/JB

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