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From John Adams Minna
No fewer than 13 bodies have been recovered after a wooden boat capsized in river Shiroro, Shiroro Local Government, Niger State on Saturday.
According an update provided by the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NISEMA) in Minna yesterday ,the boat was carrying 39 passengers before it capsized shortly after taken off from Guni in Munya LG of the state.
The boat which was also carrying food stuff and animals was heading to the Saturday market in Zumba, also in Shiroro LG.
While 26 people were rescued alive by a combined efforts of police marines and local divers, 13 people lost their lives.
Also 50 bags of paddy rice, two cows, two sheep and one goat perished in the mishap.
It was, however, gathered that the recovered bodies were still lying at the river bank in Zumba as the police marines have asked the relations of the victims to come and evacuate them for burial.
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The boat accident occured at about 2:30pm on Saturday, when the boat carrying passengers, goods and animals was heading to the Saturday market in Zumba, the same Shiroro LG.
According to a source close to Zumba market, the boat, was said to have collided with a tree under the water and broke into two due to the heavy loads and also the age of the boat.
However, a similar boat mishap in 2017 on the same river Shiroro claimed 12 lives ,while animals and food stuff equally perished.
The wooden boat too was said to have taken off from Fitir community in Kaduna State which shared boarders with Niger state and was heading towards the same Saturday market in Zumba when it suddenly capsized.
The Fitir mishap which claimed the lives of 11 women and two boys, was the sixth mishaps on the river in 15 years according to the locals.
The was no statement from the state government as at the time of filing this report (4:15pm) yesterday.
