TheCable

At least 24 persons have died after a boat capsized in Gbajibo, Mokwa area of Niger state, on Sunday. 

Garba Salihu, director-general of the Niger state emergency management agency, confirmed the incident to TheCable.

According to Salihu, the boat was conveying over 100 passengers to their farms when it capsized.

He said rescue operations have commenced and so far, 24 corpses have been recovered while at least 30 persons were rescued.

“We are in receipt of that information and currently, we are conducting a search and rescue operation, including a recovery operation in that area. The incident happened this morning at about 7:30 am in Gbajibo community, between Kanji and Jaba dam,” Salihu told TheCable in a telephone conversation.

“It is not yet clear how many people were on board but information has it that we had over 100 people on board because they were on their way to their farm. So far, about 24 corpses have been recovered, and over 3o have also been rescued. The rescue operation is still ongoing and we expect to get more survivors and more corpses.”

Reports of boat incidents have been on the rise in recent months.

On Friday, eight persons died, and seven others were declared missing in a boat mishap at Njuwa lake in Rugange village, Yola-south LGA of Adamawa state.

In June, over 100 wedding guests returning from a wedding event died after the boat conveying them capsized in Egbu village, in the Patigi LGA of Kwara state.

In the same month, five persons, including three medical students, died after a speed boat capsized in Calabar, Cross River state.

Two passengers were rescued in Lagos after a boat capsized in the Atlantic Ocean in August.