The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) on Wednesday announced that dozens of travelers are missing following a boat mishap in Kebbi state. The Area Manager of NIWA in Yauri, Mr. Yusuf Birma, confirming the incident said 156 passengers are missing, 20 rescued, and four confirmed dead. The boat ferrying about 180 passengers mostly women and children from Niger state split and sank due to overloading. The incident, one of the most deadly in recent times occurred in Ngaski Local Government Area of Kebbi state about 10 am. According to Birma, four people had been confirmed dead, 20 rescued alive while 156 people are still missing and that rescue operation was still ongoing.
“The boat is carrying 180 passengers with 30 Bajaj motorcycles. The victims were going to a market in Malele in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State from Kebbi and the incident happened just a few hours into their trip.
“The boat capacity was not up to the 180 passengers it carried,”
Apart from the people on board, the wooden boat was said to be carrying bags of sand for gold miners, motorcycles, and other equipment as the locals were heading for a local market.
“We are still rescuing the victims and the mishap occurred as a result of overloading. The boat does not have the capacity to carry 180 passengers. 156 people are still missing and they are believed to be underwater,” he said.
“The boat involved was a wooden boat which was old and very weak buy these people (skippers) would not listen when we sensitise them to reduce the number of passengers they carry in their boats,” Birma added.
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the accident as “devastating” while offering his condolences to the families of the victims.
