More than 40 persons died and over 10 others were rescued in a boat accident at Gorau community on the Goronyo River in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
While the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) confirmed the accident on Thursday and put the number of fatalities at 41, the Sokoto State Police Command gave the number of casualties as 46.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Sokoto State Command, DSP Ahmed Rufai, said that “out of 77 persons on board, seven persons were rescued alive, 46 dead bodies recovered while 24 persons declared missing.”
The NIWA area manager in Sokoto, Mr Abdulkadir Yusuf, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the boat was carrying about 82 persons, including the community leader, en route to a rice farm for harvest.
He said 41 dead bodies were buried in different communities, while 11 survivors had been reunited with their families, adding that the search for missing persons was still in progress.
Yusuf, who said the incident occurred on Wednesday, attributed it to negligence, overloading the canoe and violations of safety rules.
He explained that a team comprising officials from NIWA, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the Red Cross Society and local volunteers was at the site of the tragedy.
The Sokoto NIWA area manager reiterated that the agency had been engaging with riverine communities on safety measures, guidelines, the use of life jackets and other considerations for water use.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) also confirmed that several people died in the incident.
The Head of NEMA Sokoto Operations Office, Alhaji Tukur Abubakar, who confirmed the development in a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP Friday in Sokoto, said: “It is true that the boat has unfortunately capsized and there are reported fatalities.”
NEMA director of operations, Tukur Abubakar, confirmed that government officials were back from the accident scene and were reconciling records with the government at Sokoto Government House.
The NAN reports that several incidents have occurred along the Sokoto-Rima River in Sokoto State almost every year.
Death Toll Hits 53
However, local sources gave higher figures of those affected in the accident.
A local journalist, Sharhabilu Kiliya, who resides in the area and witnessed the incident, confirmed that the death toll had gone up.
“We have buried 46 people so far, and seven dead bodies have just been brought in this evening. The death toll is 53,” he said.
He said more than 70 people were on the boat when it capsized shortly after departure and that about six people, including the village head, had been rescued.
Most of the victims are children
Nasiru Adamu, a lawmaker at the Sokoto State Legislature from the area, lamented that those on board were mostly children aged between 10 and 15, adding that 16 people had been rescued.
