Casualties Reported in Nigerian Boat Tragedy
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Abuja, Nov 29 (NationPress) A tragic event unfolded as multiple individuals lost their lives when a wooden boat, carrying over 200 passengers and crew, capsized in a section of the River Niger, one of the two largest rivers in Nigeria.
The boat, which was primarily transporting market women and farm workers from Kogi to a weekly market in Niger on Friday—both of which are states located in the central part of the country—capsized midway through its journey, as reported by Suleiman Makama, a representative of the National Inland Waterways Authority, speaking to reporters in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State.
As of now, eight bodies have been retrieved by rescue teams, including local divers, according to Makama, who confirmed that a search and rescue operation is still in progress, as per reports by the Xinhua news agency.
A local source informed Xinhua that none of the passengers or crew members were equipped with life jackets during the voyage.
Boat accidents are a frequent occurrence in Nigeria, typically resulting from overloading, poor weather conditions, and operational mistakes.
In a similar incident in October, over 150 individuals, predominantly women and children, lost their lives when a wooden boat carrying around 300 passengers capsized on the River Niger upstream of the Jebba Dam, according to local authorities.
