A tragic boat accident in Nigeria’s Niger State has left more than 100 people missing, most of whom were women and children. The wooden vessel, which only had a capacity for 100 passengers, overturned in the rural Mokwa district while carrying about 300 people returning from an Islamic religious festival. The boat sank in the Niger River on Tuesday night, and rescue operations are ongoing to find survivors.
Authorities have confirmed the recovery of nine bodies, with local reports suggesting that approximately 60 bodies have been found. The accident has sparked renewed concerns about regulatory failures in Nigeria’s water transportation sector, with experts pointing to overloading and poorly maintained boats as common causes of such disasters.
The incident marks the second major boat accident in Niger State in recent years, following a tragedy that claimed over 100 lives. Ismaila Umar, an association leader of boat skippers in Mokwa, expressed slim hopes for finding more survivors from this latest incident. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the accident, as officials work to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
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