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- The vast majority of the 108 people who drowned after a ship broke aside have been girls and their youngsters, in keeping with survivors and native authorities.
- The ill-fated picket boat was transporting over 250 individuals throughout the Niger River in Kwara state, as they have been returning dwelling from a late-night marriage ceremony.
- Accidents involving boats will not be unusual, usually attributed to overloading and using poorly maintained vessels.
Many of the 108 individuals who drowned after a ship broke aside in north-central Nigeria have been girls and their youngsters, survivors and native authorities advised The Related Press on Thursday as search efforts ended.
The picket boat was carrying greater than 250 individuals throughout the Niger River in Kwara state as they returned dwelling from a late-night marriage ceremony when the craft hit a log and split early Monday, survivors mentioned.
One of many survivors, Ibrahim Mohammed, mentioned they carried some little youngsters to shore, “however a number of the girls didn’t wish to go away their youngsters behind and so they drowned.”
“Many of the girls in that boat had youngsters, (and a) majority of the individuals lifeless are girls and young children,” Mohammed mentioned. He mentioned he rescued three youngsters however misplaced 9 baby kin.
Villagers ended the search operation Thursday afternoon, with the victims all buried close to the river in accordance with native customs, he added.
At the least 144 people survived the accident on the Niger River, which is one in every of Africa’s longest at about 2,500 miles. The boat was meant to hold about 200 individuals however was holding at the very least 250, mentioned Mohammed Ibrahim Liman, chair of the Pategi district the place the accident occurred.
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“Individuals rushed to render assist, nevertheless it was troublesome to see the passengers contemplating how giant the river was,” Liman advised AP. As many as 68 of the lifeless have been from one village, he mentioned.
Boats are generally used for transportation in Pategi and lots of different communities surrounded by water throughout Nigeria. Accidents involving them are frequent and are normally blamed on overloading and using poorly maintained vessels. A boat capsizing in May killed 15 individuals, together with youngsters.
Many of the 108 drowning victims concerned in a Nigeria boat accident have been girls and kids.
Monday’s accident was one of many deadliest in Nigeria in recent times, authorities mentioned.
Because the villagers mourned, they referred to as on authorities to enhance the roads within the space as the popular technique of transportation.
“The lives misplaced are already gone. The federal government ought to do no matter it might do to assist us,” mentioned Muhammed Alhassan, who misplaced six members of the family within the accident.
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Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has promised that his administration will look into the challenges of inland water transportation to make sure compliance with security requirements.
After visiting the Pategi district Wednesday, Kwara state Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq mentioned the state would roll out extra security pointers for water transportation.
“Our instant step is to ship at the very least 1,000 life jackets to assist protected journey on water,” the governor mentioned, in keeping with a press release issued by his workplace.
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