Twenty-eight bodies have been recovered by divers from the scene of Saturday’s boat mishap in Tijana village of Munya Local Government Area of Niger State, Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Mallam Ahmed Inga, told newsmen in Minna on Sunday.
He said 100 persons were aboard the boat when the accident occurred and 65 were rescued, while search for the remaining seven was ongoing.
Recall that local boat carrying about 100 people, including women and children, capsized at about 6:00pm on Saturday, midway into its two hour journey due to a heavy windstorm occasioned by the Saturday evening rain in the area.
The boat had been newly constructed, barely in use for six months and the villagers were said to be returning from a local market in Zumba village of Shiroro Local Government Area of the state.
Meanwhile, Mallam Adamu Ahmed, the Sarkin Kasuwan Zumba, has called for more support, especially in the area of logistics, to speed up the search operation.
He said, “Some of the victims were going back to the village to go and get some food items and return to Zumba, where they were taking refuge as a result of bandits’ activities in their communities and the victims were mostly Internally Displaced Persons from about seven communities, all in Munya local government area”.
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