A tragic boat accident in Nigeria has left more than 100 people missing after a wooden vessel capsized in the country’s Niger State. The boat was carrying mostly women and children and had a capacity of 100 passengers, but was reportedly overloaded with about 300 people on board. The incident occurred in the rural Mokwa district on the Niger River after the passengers were returning from an Islamic religious festival. Rescue workers and volunteers managed to rescue 150 people, but a significant number of individuals remain unaccounted for.
According to Abdullahi Baba-Arah, the director general of Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), the search and rescue operation is ongoing to locate more survivors. Tragically, nine bodies have been recovered so far, including two females and seven men. The Council Chairman of Mokwa local government has reported the recovery of approximately 60 bodies with 10 survivors found. The boat had been traveling from Mundi to Gbajibo for the Annual Maulud celebration, and chances of finding additional survivors are slim, as indicated by Ismaila Umar, who leads an association of boat skippers in Mokwa.
This devastating incident marks the second major boat disaster in Niger State in the past 18 months, following a previous accident that claimed the lives of over 100 people. Such tragedies often highlight regulatory failures and are attributed to factors such as overloading and poorly maintained boats. The boat involved in this recent accident was not supposed to carry more than 100 persons, and the overloading is believed to have caused the vessel to capsize. Salihu Garba, the director of relief and rehabilitation at the state emergency services, emphasized the importance of adhering to capacity limits to prevent such disasters.
Authorities are conducting investigations to determine the cause of the boat capsizing and to establish accountability for the tragic accident. The NSEMA is working to gather more information on Tuesday’s incident, with the specific cause yet to be determined. Regulatory and safety measures in Nigeria’s water transportation sector are under scrutiny in the wake of this disaster, with calls for stricter enforcement and oversight to prevent future tragedies. Efforts are also being made to provide support and assistance to the families of the victims and to address the challenges faced by survivors in the aftermath of the accident.
The community in Mokwa, as well as local and national authorities, are rallying to support the search and rescue operations and to provide aid to those affected by the boat accident. The recovery of bodies and the ongoing search for survivors are emotionally challenging tasks for all involved, highlighting the urgent need for improved safety standards and emergency response capabilities in Nigeria’s water transportation sector. As the nation mourns the loss of life in this tragic incident, efforts are being made to ensure that lessons are learned and that measures are put in place to prevent similar disasters in the future.
