Father, 4 children, 99 others perish as boat capsizes in Kwara

At least 103 persons have lost their lives in a boat accident at Egbu village, in the Patigi Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The deceased reportedly met their end after the boat conveying them while returning from a marriage ceremony capsized.

Among the victims of the mishap, which happened on Monday, are a father and his four children.

The tragic incident has cast an ominous cloud of sorrow and despair on the village.

The spokesperson for the Kwara State Police Command, SP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident.

He said the names of the survivors will be published soon.

Okasannmi said, “The names of survivors will be made public as soon as they are available.”

About 50 bodies of passengers have been recovered from the incident, according to PUNCH.

The Transition Implementation Committee Chairman, Patigi LGA, Alhaji Mohammed Ibrahim Liman, put the number of passengers that died in the accident at 110.

Liman, while quoting from a statement by one Alhassan Bala Mohammed, a community leader in the area, said, “About 110 people died in the boat mishap in our area. We’re going to tell you about the tragedy and unforgettable memory that occurred to my people from our village and other neighbouring villages close to us.

“Our village people went to a wedding ceremony in another village called Gboti and the boat carried about 270 people, and almost 110 people were lost.”

Liman said from their record, 61 villagers from his village, Ebu, died in the incident; 38 from Gakpan; four from Kpada, two from Kuchalu and one from Sampi.

“This is an unforgettable memory and tragedy in the history of our village,” he said.

It was also gathered that a river wave took control of the boat, which eventually hit a tree, leading to the boat capsizing and throwing many people into the river.

Locals told newmen that the deceased had taken off from Kpada village to be part of the marriage ceremony at Egboti village.

They attributed the accident to the overloading of the boat, adding that the boat capsized during the return trip from the venue of the marriage ceremony.