At least one person has died following a boat mishap involving 24 persons including women and children in Niger State.
Authorities say 23 persons were rescued after the mishap which took place in Shiroro Local Government Area.
The incident is said to have occurred while the individuals were on their way to Kwata and Zumba market.
Director General, Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Ibrahim Inga confirmed the incident, noting that local divers in their proactive action were able to rescue the victims and recover the corpse of the individual who died.
He added that asides the 23 people rescued, three cattle were also on the boat as at the time of the incident, adding that one cattle survived the accident while the others died.
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Inga advised the people leaving in the riverine communities within the state to ensure constant use of lifejackets to ensure their safety in the event of such an unfortunate incident.
The tragic incident in Niger comes a few weeks after at least fifteen persons were killed in a boat accident in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed this in a statement.
According to him, emergency responders also rescued 15 passengers on board the boat that sunk due to a mechanical fault.
“The Lion squad of the agency responded to the above incident today 6th of July 2022,” he said. “On arrival, it was discovered that a 20-passenger ferry boat carrying 17 passengers named “R & N 2” had capsized due to a suspected mechanical fault and was rapidly submerged following its departure from the Ipakodo ferry terminal.
“A combined team of water guards, the search and rescue team of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and LASEMA responders were mobilised to the scene of the incident, leading to the rescue of 15 persons alive.”
“Two adult female passengers were retrieved unconscious and were transferred to the nearest hospital for treatment. They unfortunately never regained consciousness and were later declared dead.”
The LASEMA boss stated that the boat captain is being investigated by the relevant authorities while LASWA has begun a probe into the cause of the accident.
