Fewer than thirteen people, comprising 13 females and two males, have died in two separate boat accidents in Niger State.
Saturday PUNCH learnt , on
Friday, that the accident involving the females occurred in the early
morning of Tuesday when the boat they were travelling in capsized on the
Kontagora River in Magama Local Government Area of the state.
Our correspondent learnt that 17 villagers were going to a farm to harvest groundnuts when the accident occurred.
Six out of the passengers were said to
have been rescued by divers, while the rest drowned. Among the dead were
married women and underage girls.
Eight bodies had been recovered as of
the time of filing this report, while divers were still searching for
the remains of three victims.
Kontagora River, a tributary of River
Niger had overflowed its bank following a heavy downpour the previous
night, resulting in the tragedy.
The Director-General, Niger State
Emergency Management Agency, Mallam Ahmed Inga, explained that there was
rain upstream and the travellers did not know that more water was
flowing towards them. He pointed out that the local current is always
strong in the morning, especially when moving against the tide.
It was learnt that the deaths on the
river had increased following the works on the abandoned Kontagora Dam
by the Federal Government. Over eight people lost their lives in 2015
when their boat capsized in the middle of the river.
Meanwhile, two other persons have also
been confirmed dead in a boat accident at New Busa, in Borgu Local
Government area of the state.
Inga said that the victims died last week when they were travelling in the waterways from one part of the council to another.
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