Thirty seven bodies have been recovered after an accident that occurred last Saturday involving two boats carrying over 200 passengers along river Benue in northern Cameroon.
Reports quoted official sources as saying on Tuesday that no fewer than 10 people had been rescued while many other people are still missing.
Cameroon’s public broadcaster has reported that the country’s national navy was still searching for survivours and victims of the accident in which two boats collided.
Having left Lagdo region heading to Rey Bouba locality in the same region, the two boats that were said to be overloaded, collided after being swept away by strong winds, security sources said.
Over 200 passengers are thought to have been on board both boats with unknown quantity of merchandise.
Some of the victims were identified as traders returning from the Lagdo weekly market, while others were identified as family members coming from a customary Muslim marriage ceremony.
With only 10 survivors rescued four days after the accident, hopes of the rescue teams finding more survivors have continued to fade.
As a first measure to prevent such catastrophes from recurring, the governor of Cameroon’s northern region, Jean Abate Edi’i has banned night travels by boat along river Benue.
Official statistics cited by the media indicate that on some days, especially market days, over 500 small boats move between Lagdo and Rey Bouba locality.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.