Niger boat mishap: 134 persons missing, 16 corpses recovered

No fewer than about 134 persons have been declared missing, while 16 corpses were recovered in a boat mishap that occurred at the Gbajibo community in the Mokwa local government area of Niger.

The accident was said to have happened at about 8.30 pm on Independence Day, October 1st, 2024, while the boat was sailing from the Mundi community with about 300 passengers on board.

The Director General Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Hon. Abdullahi Baba Arah, confirmed this in a statement issued and made available to Journalists in Minna on Wednesday, stressing that 150 passengers have been rescued alive while search for more survivals was still ongoing.

Baba Arah explained that the agency was directing and monitoring search and rescue operations in collaboration with the State Ministry of Transport, Mokwa Local Government Emergency Committee, brave local divers, and other community volunteers.

He appreciated the prompt response from the community volunteers who had rescued over 150 persons, noting that the search and rescue operation was still ongoing to locate more survivors and assured that the general public would be provided with updates.

Further checks reliably gathered that the cause of the boat accident was attributed to overloading and night travel.

Reliable sources would not want their names in. The Prints said the passengers were going for Maulud from New Gbajiko in Kwara to Old Gbajiko in Mokwa local government area of Niger when the unfortunate incident occurred.