A boat carrying mourners returning to their destinatio from a burial in Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State has capsized on the Buruku River, with six of them reported missing as at the time of filing this report on Saturday evening
Penpushing reports that Chairman of Buruku Local Government Area, Raymond Zege, confirmed the incident said to occurred around 11 am on Saturday with about 70 people said to be on board, addding that the mourners were travelling by boat when its engine reportedly developed a fault while they were on the river.
The chairman explained that the occupants struggled to manoeuvre the boat and remain afloat, while another boat reportedly came to their rescue, adding that the boat was overloaded, and that many of them are not conversant with water sounds, and they became panic and in the process began to struggle.
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“They are people from Gboko LG; they went for a burial to cross to the other side, but on their way back they overloaded the boat and the engine failed. You know, most of them are not conversant with water sounds, and they became panic and in the process began to struggle. But before they could get to the other boat coming to rescue them, they ran into water waves, and the weight of the boat made it sink. There are over 70 people on board but we have not seen about six persons’, he said.
Penpushing further reports that Zege raised concerns about compliance with safety measures among commuters, saying authorities had provided life jackets for people using the river crossing, adding that enforcement had been difficult because some passengers complained about discomfort and other reasons for not wearing the jackets.
The Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy, Denis Iyaghigba, said he had received preliminary reports of the boat mishap stating thatinitial information indicated that a strong water current swept the boat into an abandoned barge at a corner of the river, causing it to overturn.
“I wish to assure members of the public, particularly families of those who may have been aboard the boat, to remain calm and await verified information from the appropriate authorities. No effort will be spared to ensure their safety. I have directed the boat operators and their union downstream to mobilise and assist in the ongoing search and rescue operation’, he said.
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