28 dead in Niger boat mishap

Marine police rescue 3 in Badagry boat mishap
Illustrative picture. PHOTO: CMSBS

 

Twenty-eight persons have lost their lives in a boat accident in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State.

In a statement on Sunday, Director General of the state emergency management agency, Ahmed Inga, said 100 occupants of the boat were coming from Tija village in Munya, another Local Government Area in the state.

Inga said the incident happened on May 8, at about 6pm, adding that the boat hit a stump of a tree 50 metres to its destination.

He said 65 people survived, 28 corpses recovered by local divers while seven people are still missing.

He said search-and-rescue operation is ongoing to recover the missing persons.