Niger’s Boat Mishap: Death toll rises to 30

Story from Hamzat Ibrahim ABAGA

The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) on Monday, confirmed that divers have recovered an additional six bodies of farmers who perished in a boat accident on Sunday, September 10, in the Gbajibo community of Mokwa LGA in Niger State, taking the tally to a total of 30 bodies retrieved.

Alhaji Garba Salihu, NSEMA’s Acting Director-General, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna.

READ ALSO: Eight lives lost in Adamawa boat accident, seven still unaccounted for

He said that the agency had so far rescued 30 persons in Gbajibo area where the incident occurred.

”Yesterday, I told you that we have recovered 24 corpses, but that same day it later increased to 26 dead bodies.

”Today, we recovered four more corpses, making 30 in all,” Salihu said.

It was gathered that the boat was carrying over 100 passengers, including women and children, who reside in the settlements between Jebba and Kainji dam in the Mokwa area of the state, before it hit a reservoir.

The Acting Director-General said that 27 of the deceased were women, while three were male children.

The agency added that the victims, who were from Gbajibo, Ekwa, and Yankyade communities, were on the way to their farms located on the other side of the River Niger.

Tragically, 16 of the deceased were siblings from one family who were traveling to their farm when their boat collided with an underwater stump.

It was reported that heavy rainfall had raised the water level, making the stump invisible. Hajiya Kashi Mokwa, a member of the bereaved family, has appealed to the government to help provide adequate life jackets and support the survivors who have lost their loved ones.

The local lamented “We are devastated by the mishap. Losing 16 members of your family is a severe disaster and it has happened to us. They were going to the farm when the boat collided with an underwater stump.

“Because the water level has risen now because of regular heavy rainfall, you won’t see those stumps.

“We want the government to come to help us. Boat mishap is becoming too much. It has been a traumatic experience for me and the rest of my family. When you lost 16 members in a family at once, how easy is it to bear this tragedy?”

This latest incident comes three months after a boat carrying families returning from a wedding sank in a river in Kwara State, killing over 100 people on board.

Boat accidents are a recurring problem in Nigeria, with many incidents resulting in considerable loss of life. Last year, 10 people died in an accident in Kebbi State, while in 2018, more than 100 people died in a single disaster in Kebbi. And recently 11 persons died in the Adamawa State boat mishap.

As ferries, canoes, and other water transport are a crucial means of access for many communities, it is essential that the Nigerian government can regulate transportation on waterways by enforcing safety measures to ensure people’s safety.

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