Nigeria Boat Capsize: Hundreds of people are feared dead after a boat capsized in Nigeria’s Niger River. Hundreds of people on board, including wedding guests, were feared dead when the boat capsized in the river early Monday, CNN reported, citing a local chief.
The boat carrying more than 300 people capsized after hitting a tree trunk, CNN quoted the traditional chief in Kapada Abdul Gana Laukpada as saying. The accident was reported to have happened in the early hours of Monday (local time). Some of the stranded wedding guests tried to cross the river from Egboti village in Niger state after heavy rains flooded the roads, said Abdul Gan Lukpada in Kapada, Patigi district. Took the help of a boat.
People were stranded due to rain, boarded the boat to get out
Lukpada told that there was a wedding ceremony in a nearby village and after the ceremony it started raining. The people attending the wedding decided to use a boat to take them out of Egboti village. It is being told that Agboti village is on the banks of the Niger River. The area of the community is terrible when it rains.
Abdul Gana Laukpada said the boat was carrying 300 people, including both men and women from different communities. He further said, “It was between 3:00 – 4:00 am on Monday. As they set sail, the boat collided with a tree branch floating in the water and split in two. I am informed that only 53 have survived. The rest are feared dead.”
Team deployed to assess the accident
Laukpada termed the accident as a great tragedy and further said that he had lost four of his neighbours. Speaking to CNN, Ajay Okasanmi, spokesman for the police command in Kwara, said a team has been deployed to the area to assess what happened on the spot.
The Kwara State Government has expressed its condolences to the families of the victims. Rafiu Ajkaye, a government spokesman, said in a statement that they were monitoring rescue efforts to find survivors, reports CNN. Earlier in May, at least 15 people died when a boat capsized in Sokoto, Nigeria.
