From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna
It was another day of agony and sorrow in Borgu Emirate council of Niger state as a boat conveying 18 passengers capsized, killing 11 of the 18 passengers on board.
Seven out of the passengers on board escaped as the corpses of the dead were interred immediately.
According to Malam Danburan, an Assistant Secretary at the emirate, “the unfortunate accident occurred on Monday, between 5 and 6pm. The boat was conveying passengers, who were mostly locals, from Garafini Kodo to Garafini when the accident happened”.
Also, eye-witness account which included seven survivors of the mishap revealed that the boat hit the stump of a tree covered by water and broke, drowning the 18 passengers in the boat.
The seven survivors were said to have swam into safety, leaving the other 11 who could no swim.
It would be recalled that the recent mishap brought to four of such incidents in Niger state in the last one year.
Meanwhile, Governor of Niger state Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has condoled with the Borgu emirate and entire people of Borgu Local government council of the state over yesterday’s tragic incident.
The governor, who made his position known in a press statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Israel A. Ebije, described it as unfortunate, pledging that government would investigate the remote cause of the disaster and continue to work towards checking rising cases of boat mishaps within communities in riverine areas across the state especially as the rainy season intensifies.
It would be recalled that in April, about five people died in a boat accident in Egah river in Edati local government area of the state.
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