8 dead, 7 hospitalized as boat capsizes
• 138 Still Missing
Tragedy struck in Ngasky local government council of Kebbi yesterday, when a boat carrying not less than 150 passengers returning from Malali Market in Kebbi capsized along River Niger.
Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in-charge of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States, Sulaiman Muhammad, who confirmed the story, said fishermen and the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) made efforts to rescue missing passengers.
Explaining how the accident happened when the boat hit a branch of tree in the water and capsized, the Coordinator said, “as soon as we got hint of the mishap, we put a call to the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority to help rescue the missing passengers.”
He added that all the people on board were missing, but as rescue and search continued , 14 people were discovered, pointing out that while eight died, the seven wounded were taken to Ngaski Hospital.
It was gathered that about 136 are yet to be accounted for, even as the sole administrator of Ngaski LGA, Garba Hassan, said eight people had been confirmed dead and that the toll may increase.
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