No fewer than six persons have been confirmed dead after a boat capsized in the Gbara area, Mokwa, Niger State on Friday.
The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) confirmed the incident. It said five persons are still missing.
A statement by the agency said the incident occurred on Friday evening when the boat, which was conveying 48 passengers, was returning from Danchitagi village market in Lavun Local Government Area to Gbara village.
NSEMA attributed the incident to a heavy downpour a windstorm.
“NSEMA has received a report of boat mishap that occurred yesterday (Friday) evening around 6:30pm at Gbara area of Mokwa LGA (River Kaduna). The boat, which took off from Lanchikagi village of Lavun LGA, was heading to Gbara village. There were 48 passengers on board and they were said to be returning from Danchitagi village market (Lavun LGA) which comes up every Friday.
“As at the time of filing this report, 37 persons survived, 6 dead bodies were recovered and 5 persons still missing.
The cause of the incident was as a result of heavy downpour which was accompanied by violent windstorm.
Meanwhile, search and rescue operations are still ongoing,” the agency said.
Frequent boat mishaps have become commonplace on Nigerian waters, even as the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), which was created to ensure safety on the waters, has failed in fulfilling its mandate.
At least 76 people died on Friday October 7, 2022 in a boat accident in Anambra State. The boat, which was carrying about 80 people, capsized in the Ogbaru area of the state. Most of the victims were women and children, trying to reach safety after their community got flooded.
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