No fewer than 46 bodies were recovered and 15 passengers rescued alive in a boat mishap that occurred in Gorau community, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, Northwest of Nigeria
The Police Public Relations Officer for Sokoto State Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police,(DSP), Ahmed Rufai, who confirmed the accident, said rescue operations were still ongoing for the remaining 16 passengers.
The accident was said to have occurred on Thursday when a boat carrying 77 passengers, including men, women and children, capsized while conveying farmers and other passengers to their rice farms.
Rufai said that the rescue team was already doing its job,adding that the rescue team comprised local divers, officials of the National Emergency Management Agency, the State Emergency Management Agency and the Police.
“Forty-six corpses have so far been recovered, while 15 persons were rescued alive. The rescue team, comprising local divers, NEMA, SEMA and the Police, is still searching for the remaining 16 people,’ he said.
The Sokoto State Police image maker also confirmed that 77 persons were on board the boat at the time of the incident.
As the rescue continues, all eyes on the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau(NSIB), a body responsible for air, rail,road and marine accident investigation to investigate the accident and tell Nigerians the cause of the accident and also make safety recommendations to prevent future occurrence .
Boat accidents have become rampant in Nigeria waterways and they are often caused by overloaded boats, poor maintenance or failure to comply with safety regulations.
According to sn eyewitness, Mustapha Gido the passengers were heading to the farm on the other side of the river.
He added that most of them were women and children and that some of the girls were to get married soon.
“We already buried 46 bodies, and five others have just been brought out of the river, ” the eyewitness said.
A local farmer, Abdul Musa, confirmed that he boat was overloaded and that the boat sunk minutes after it departed for its destination .
Also speaking on the boat mishap, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA) in Sokoto State, Dahir Kure, said rescue operations were underway.
According to him, “We are now at the scene of the boat accident and have begun rescue work.”
Speaking further Kure, explained that he could not immediately give the number of people who died in the accident and those rescued as authorities were still collecting necessary information on the incident.
Recall that no fewer than five person drowned when a boat capsised in Jigawa state in July
Recall also that in January, at least 26 people drowned when a boat carrying farmers and fishermen from Jigawa to Yobe state capsized.
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