National
22 passengers die as boat enroute Yauri capsized
No fewer than 22 passengers on board of a boat from Kasabu village in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State to Yauri in Kebbi State have been reported dead.
The boat which capaized was attributed to water hyacinth coupled with strong waves, according to Alhaji Salihu Garba, the overseeing Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA).
Speaking to journalists in Minna on Monday, Alhaji Garba said that the agency received a report of the boat mishap that occurred on Monday between 11 am and 12 pm.
A survivor of the mishap confirmed that the boat has about 22 passengers on board.
However, the DG added that search and rescue operations were ongoing by the local divers and boat owners under the supervision of the agency’s desk officer in Agwara.
“No passenger has been recovered yet, the mishap happened on Yauri market day. Only after the market that families would be able to declare their missing relatives. It takes about 24 hours for any drowned person to surface atop water”, he added.
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