The death toll from the boat mishap that occurred at Malale riverfront in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State has risen to 60, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.
The ill-fated boat, carrying mostly women and children, had departed Tugan Sule in Shagunu ward with about 90 passengers en route to Dugga for a condolence visit when it capsized on September 2.
The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Abdullahi Baba Arah, initially reported that 29 bodies were recovered, 50 persons rescued, and two still missing. He said the tragedy was caused by overloading and a collision with a tree stump.
“NSEMA has received a report of a boat mishap at Gausawa in Malale area of Borgu LGA. The boat took off from Tugan Sule with 90 people on board, including women and children, heading to Dugga. As of now, 29 bodies have been recovered, 50 people rescued alive, and search and rescue operations are ongoing for missing persons,” Arah said.
However, Reuters quoted the chairman of Borgu LGA, Abdullahi Baba Ara, as confirming that the casualty figure had climbed to 60, with ten passengers in critical condition and many others still unaccounted for.
Sa’adu Inuwa Muhammad, the district head of Shagunu, who was at the scene shortly after the accident, said the boat was carrying more than 100 people.
“I was at the scene yesterday from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. We recovered 31 corpses from the river, and the boat was also removed. Four victims were buried today in line with Islamic rites, most of the deceased were women and children,” Muhammad told Reuters.
The tragic accident, which happened around 11:30 a.m., has thrown the Borgu communities into mourning. Search and rescue efforts are continuing to locate any remaining victims.
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