Nigeria: 136 feared dead as boat breaks apart on River Niger
Scores of people have reportedly gone missing after a boat carrying about 150 people broke apart.
Reports say eight people, four of them females, were confirmed dead after the accident. The boat was carrying traders from a market in Kebbi State when the accident occurred at about 6:05 p.m. on Good Friday.
Survivors said the boat broke apart after hitting a stump.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported the boat was carrying 150 passengers returning from Malali Market in Kebbi capsized along River Niger.
The coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in-charge of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States, Sulaiman Muhammad, confirmed this to the state-run agency.
He said that efforts were on going between fishermen and the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to rescue the missing passengers.
“As soon as we had got the hint of the mishap, we put a call to the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority to help rescue the missing passengers.
“All the people on board were missing, but as rescue and search continue wide and deep of the river intensified, 14 people have been discovered; seven died and seven have been taken to Ngaski Hospital,” he said.
NAN gathered that the accident occurred when the boat hit a branch of tree in the water and capsized.
Ngaski Local Government Area is a two-hour journey from the river where the incident happened.
Source: NAN
