No fewer than four women have drowned in a tragic boat accident that occurred on the River Benue in Taraba State.

The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, took place in the Mayo Ranewo area of Ardo-Kola Local Government Council. This comes barely a year after several persons drowned in the same river.

It will be recalled that over 50 persons drowned in the same river in October 2023 when a boat travelling to a neighbouring village in Karim-Lamido capsized.

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Sources from the area who spoke with our state correspondent confirmed that all the victims of the accident were women.

The boat, carrying over thirty passengers, was travelling from Mayo Ranewo in Ardo-Kola to Belango in Karim-Lamido Local Government Council when the mishap occurred.

An eyewitness, who identified himself as Sunday Bala, told The Guardian that more than 30 passengers survived the accident.

Another source, who also confirmed that the victims were not market women, shared details of the tragedy, which has left the local community in mourning.

They expressed sadness that, despite the state government’s promise to regulate the activities of boats operating in Taraba waterways, nothing positive has happened.

Shortly after the boat accident that claimed eight lives on November 13, 2023, in Ibi Local Government Area, the state governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, vowed to work out modalities to prevent future boat mishaps in the state.

The governor, through his Special Adviser on Media and Digital Communication, Emmanuel Bello, said, “Today’s boat incident is even more unfortunate since it comes on the heels of a similar one in Karim-Lamido that threw the state into mourning.”

The governor also announced last year that he would personally tour the affected areas to meet with local stakeholders in the waterways transport sector to ensure that the water transport system in the state is safe for passengers. At the time of filing this report, he has not yet fulfilled this promise.

Kefas was also noted last year for announcing that measures were in place to phase out old boats and introduce the compulsory use of life jackets, among other life-saving measures.

Water transporters who spoke with our correspondent expressed disappointment that, a year later, none of these promises had been fulfilled.

The police command, which could not ascertain the number of casualties or the cause of the accident at the time of filing this report, promised to reach out to our state correspondent as soon as relevant information is made available by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the council.