- They were being conveyed them from new Gbajiko in Kwara State to old Gbajiko in Niger State when the mishap happened.
At least 36 dead bodies have been recovered in the boat accident that occurred on Tuesday in Niger State.
The accident happened after the overloaded boat capsized on the Niger River upstream of the Jebba Dam at Gbajibo Community in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.
The about 300 passengers on board, mostly women and youths, were going for Maulud celebration when the boat capsized at about 8:30 pm.
They were being conveyed from new Gbajiko in Kwara State to old Gbajiko in Niger State when the mishap happened.
About 150 out of the 300 passengers were rescued alive during the accident.
Through the joint efforts of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, NSEMA, Niger State Ministry of Transport, the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, Mokwa Local Government Emergency Committee, brave local divers, and other community volunteers, a total of 16 bodies were recovered on Wednesday.
In his situation report on Thursday, Director General of NSEMA, Abdullahi Baba Arah, said in a statement that a total of 20 bodies were recovered today, Thursday, bringing the total to 36 bodies.
“As of 6 pm today, we have so far recovered about 36 bodies of those who drowned and died in the river. We recovered 16 yesterday and 20 today. And they have all been buried, ” he revealed.
Arah also stated that search-and-rescue operations are still ongoing to locate more bodies that are still in the river.
The tragedy was attributed to several violations of waterways codes that included overloading of the boat of 300 passengers, a sub-standard wooden boat, lack of safety life jackets, and night sailing at 8:30 pm.