Boat capsizes with over 200 passengers in Niger

A boat carrying over 200 passengers capsized along the Dambo-Ebuchi sections of River Niger in the early hours of Friday.

According to Channels Television, this accident claimed the lives of many passengers. People at the accident scene said the boat was transporting market women, farm labourers, and others to the Katcha weekly market.

Although the authorities have yet to release a public statement on the issue, the latest reports claimed that eight bodies have been recovered, and local drivers have embarked on a search and rescue mission to recover the bodies of the accident’s victims.

Other sources have said that none of the passengers had life jackets on at the time of the accident and this may have a hand in the high number of casualties that was recorded.

This is the second report of a tragic boat accident in Niger State in two months.

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In October, a wooden boat capsized in Niger. The boat was conveying over 300 people, mainly women and children, from Mundi Local Government Area in Kwara State to Mokwa LGA for the Malud celebration before the tragic incident.

About 150 passengers escaped, while 42 bodies were recovered through search and rescue operations carried out by emergency responders.

A source in the Niger State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs attributed the accident to overloading and blamed the passengers for disregarding safety rules.