Tragedy struck in Gbara area of Mokwa Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State as six persons have been confirmed dead due to a boat mishap on River Kaduna, while five other passengers have been declared missing.
The incident reportedly happened around 6 pm on Friday with 48 passengers on board.
According to sources, the boat took off from Lanchikagi village of Lavun LG and was heading to Gbara village when it met with its untimely end.
Confirming the accident, the Niger State Management Agency (NSEMA), in a statement signed by the Director General, Ibrahim Inga, said 48 persons were on the boat when the mishap occurred, with six losing their lives.
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He explained that “37 persons survived, six dead bodies were recovered, while five are still missing in the accident that occurred Friday evening.”
According to him, the passengers were said to be returning from Danchitagi village market in Lavun local government which comes up every Friday.
Inga attributed the cause of the incident to heavy downpour which was accompanied by violent windstorm.
Meanwhile, the NSEMA DG added that search and rescue operations are still ongoing for the remaining missing persons.