From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi
At least 11 people, including a pregnant woman and six children, are feared dead after a boat capsized on the River Benue in Makurdi Local Government Area on Saturday night.
The victims were among 40 passengers returning from a burial ceremony when the tragedy occurred.
According to local sources, the accident happened between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM during a heavy rainstorm that swept across the Benue State capital.
The passengers were heading back to Daudu dawadawa community—an island settlement situated behind the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering (NASME) Barracks in the North Bank area of Makurdi.
Nura Umar, the Commander of the local vigilante group Operation Shara (Sweep) in North Bank, confirmed the incident to journalists.
He stated that the victims had traveled to Wadata earlier in the day to attend the burial of a community member and were on their way home when the storm struck, causing the boat to capsize.
According to Umar, the deceased woman had been taken to a private hospital in North Bank on Saturday morning where she later died, prompting relatives and sympathisers from the island community to converge in Wadata for her burial.
“What happened was that we took a sick woman from the community behind NASME to a private hospital in North Bank yesterday morning, where she later died.
Her relatives came and joined us for the burial at Wadata.
“After the burial, they boarded a boat to cross over to Daududawadawa community. At about 7pm heavy rain and strong winds started and the boat capsized halfway into the journey.
“There were over 40 passengers aboard the boat, but 11 are feared dead. We have recovered four bodies so far and buried them, while divers are still searching for the remaining victims,” Umar said.
He further disclosed that one of the survivors had a baby strapped to her back but lost the child in the accident.
When contacted, spokesperson, Benue Police Command, DSP Udeme Edet, however said she was unaware of the incident.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
