…As officials reports 160 death
Kebbi Governor mourns victims of Ngaski boat mishap
Kebbi state governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has expressed shock and sorrow, over Wednesday’s boat accident which reportedly claimed about 160 lives in Ngaski Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
The governor who condoles with the victims’ families, in a statement issued by his media aide, Yahaya Sarki described the accident as unfortunate and prayed the Almighty Allah to give the families the patience to bear the loss.
According to him, the boat which conveying over 100 passengers from Loko in Niger State to Kebbi State, capsized in the Niger River
He assured that the state government is collaborating with Ngaski local government and other relevant authorities, for search and rescue operations in the area.
Meanwhile, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has confirmed incident stating that it fears 160 people died in the boat mishap as a most of them are yet to be found.
The agency said only four dead bodies had been recovered “but 156 out of the 180 passengers onboard were still missing and are feared dead.”
The Area Manager of the NIWA in Yauri, Yusuf Birma, told reporters that the mishap happened due to overloading, adding that four corpses were found.
The official said 20 persons were rescued “and the 156 people missing are feared dead. The boat was also carrying 30 Bajaj motorcycles,” Mr Birma said.
The victims from Kebbi were going to a market in neighboring Borgu LGA in Niger State. The boat reportedly broke into two pieces, the official added.
The Area Manager lamented that “the boat involved is a wooden boat which is old and very weak but these people will not listen when we sensitized them to reduce the number of passengers they are carrying with the boat”.
Kebbi Governor mourns victims of Ngaski boat mishap