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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
Tragedy struck in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Saturday night when a boat carrying over 40 mourners capsized on the River Benue, leaving 11 persons feared dead.
Our correspondent gathered that the victims included a pregnant woman and six children, among four others.
The mourners were reportedly returning to Daududawadawa, an island community located behind the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering (NASME) in the North Bank area of Makurdi, after attending a burial ceremony in Wadata.
It was said that the accident occurred between 7 pm and 8 pm during heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds, making navigation difficult on the river.
Speaking on the incident, the Commander of Operation Shara (Sweep), a local vigilante group in North Bank, Nura Umar, said the mourners had gathered earlier in the day to bury a woman from their community who died after being taken to a private hospital in North Bank for treatment.
According to Umar, relatives and sympathisers from Daududawadawa travelled to Wadata to participate in the burial rites and were returning home when the incident occurred.
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He explained that the boat was carrying more than 40 passengers when it was caught in the storm and capsized.
Umar said, “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 back to Daududawadawa community. At about 7 pm, 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.”
He disclosed that among the survivors was a woman who had a baby strapped to her back during the journey but tragically lost the child when the boat capsized.
He said rescue efforts were still ongoing as local divers continued the search for those missing in the river.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Benue State Command, DSP Udeme Edet, said she had not received any report on the incident.
