Greater than 100 individuals have drowned in north central Nigeria after a ship carrying households getting back from a marriage sank in a river, police and native authorities mentioned. Particulars in regards to the accident in Kwara State have been nonetheless rising, nevertheless it was the most recent boat tragedy in Nigeria the place river capsizes are frequent on account of overloading, lax security procedures and heavy flooding within the wet season.
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The boat was ferrying individuals in Kwara State from a marriage in neighbouring Niger State when it went down, native police and the Kwara governor’s workplace mentioned Tuesday, with out giving the trigger. “Thus far we’ve 103 individuals lifeless and over 100 rescued from the boat accident,” Kwara State police spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi advised AFP by phone. “Search and rescue remains to be ongoing which suggests the toll is more likely to rise.” The Kwara State governor’s workplace mentioned the victims had been getting back from a marriage ceremony in Kwara’s Patigi district.
“The governor is unhappy to obtain studies of the boat accident involving a number of individuals, significantly residents of Ebu, Dzakan, Kpada, Kuchalu, and Sampi, all in Patigi,” the assertion mentioned. “The governor sends his heartfelt condolences to the individuals of those communities.” The governor was monitoring the rescue efforts which had been underway since Monday evening seeking doable survivors, it mentioned.
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“He commends the alertness of (conventional ruler) the Etsu Patigi His Royal Highness Alhaji Ibrahim Umar Bologi II and different native authorities authorities for the efforts to avoid wasting as many individuals as doable who could have survived the mishap.” Such river accidents are sadly frequent in Nigeria. Final month, 15 kids drowned and 25 others went lacking after their overloaded boat capsized in northwest Sokoto State as they have been on their technique to accumulate firewood.
One other accident left 29 kids lifeless final yr
Nearly precisely a yr earlier, one other 29 kids from a close-by village additionally drowned in the identical river as they have been on a visit to gather firewood for his or her households. Throughout huge flooding within the wet season final December, not less than 76 individuals drowned when their boat went down in a swollen river in southeastern Anambra State. With poor street infrastructure a frequent drawback and kidnapping for ransom a significant difficulty alongside some highways, riverboat journey for transport and commerce is frequent in Nigeria.
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The Niger River is West Africa’s most important waterway working in a crescent via Guinea to Nigeria’s Niger Delta and is a key commerce route for some nations. Nigeria’s Nationwide Inland Waterways Authority has tried to ban night-time crusing on rivers to cease accidents and says overloading ships is a felony offence, however skippers and crews usually ignore the rules.
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© Agence France-Presse
