Breaking: Over 100 Feared Dead in Boat Mishap

By Laleye Dipo

Tragedy struck on Wednesday when a boat conveying over 180 passengers capsized with over 100 of the passengers feared dead.

The boat was said to have taken off from Loko mina in Niger state at about 7.30am Wednesday and was heading to a market in Kebbi state.

THISDAY was told that as at 6.30pm only 20 passengers had been rescued while four corpses had been recovered.

It was learnt that the cause of the accident was the overloading of the boat and its old age.

The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed Inga, confirmed the incident.

Inga confirmed that the agency had received the report of the accident, adding “search and rescue operation is on going by the Marine police, NIWA and our Local divers”

Three weeks ago, tragedy also struck when the boat in which some 100 villagers were traveling capsized, leading to the death of 28 passengers. Some other passengers in the ill-fated boat are still missing.

The accident which occured on that fateful day at about 6pm had claimed the lives of the villagers from Tijana in Munya Local Government who were said to be returning from the popular Zumba market.

Eyewitnesses had claimed that in that accident too, the boat was overloaded, carrying no less than 100 passengers as against 30 that it was supposed to ferry. Only 68 passengers were rescued in that accident