claimed several lives in Malale village in Borgu Local
Government Area of Niger State, another mishap
has occurred leaving no less than 18 persons dead.
According eyewitness, the accident occurred when a
boat conveying people from Kokoli to Ulakami
capsized at about 4pm. The passengers were
returning from a market in Kokoli, which holds every
Thursday.
The boat was said to be conveying about 80 people
when it split into two, throwing the passengers into
the river.
A survivor, Umar Ibrahim, who spoke to punch newspaper reporter "We were in the middle of the
10 kilometre journey, when the boat split into two
throwing all of us into the water. People started
screaming and falling into the water."
Ibrahim stated that he was able to rescue about 10
women and children adding that the men could take
care of themselves and most of them assisted in the
rescue to reduce the casualty figure.
He added that the intervention of the boat captains
and some passengers who could swim also helped to
reduce the number of victims.
"I thank almighty Allah for using the boat driver and
other good swimmers to come to our rescue fast,
because the bank of the river was far away from us.
The other boat drivers rushed towards us and put
those of us that were rescued on their boats. Some
people were also very tired," he added.
The village head, Mohammed Garba, confirmed that
after the incident, he went round to find out how
many people were missing and they recorded 18.
Though some villagers, said, "The river is angry
because it has not be given its yearly sacrifice,"
some were of the opinion that the boat was too old
and was not maintained.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Disaster and
Emergency Management, Mohammed Saba,
appealed to them to remain calm as people were
blaming the boat operators for the deaths.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management
Agency has attributed the high level of casualty in
the last week's boat mishap in Tunga Na' Illo, Borgu
Local Government Area of the state, to the lack of
the state government's presence in the area.
Speaking at a one-day sensitisation workshop on
liquid and solid waste management, organised by
the agency in Minna, the Agency's North Central
Coordinator, Mr. Ishaya Isah Chinoko, said "About
70 people died when the boat which was carrying
over 100 villagers to the market suddenly developed
an engine problem and capsized mid way in the
river".
The NEMA boss however maintained that the
casualty figure would have been less if there were
relevant state government agencies, like the police
marine and organised local divers stationed there for
rescue purposes in view of the heavy water
transport activities in the area.
Source: www.punchng.com
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