No fewer than 15 people were reported to have died, while three others remained missing after a boat capsized in Danmaga Village of Gummi local government area Zamfara State.
According to LEADERSHIP findings, the incident occured on Friday when about 20 villagers fleeing bandit attack, boarded a boat that capsized when attempting to cross a river at Nasarawar Kifi in Birnin Tudu Ward.
Sources told our correspondent that the victims, mostly women and children from Danmaga, Tungar Maigunya and Nasarawar Kifi rushed to the river to join a boat expected to ferry them to safety.
According to the source, the ill-fated boat which could only carry 16 passengers, was overloaded during its third trip after two women forced themselves onboard to increase passengers to 18.
One Malam Musa Danmaga, a resident of the area who spoke to LEADERSHIP through a telephone interview said lives were lost every year in the community through such tragic incidents.
Danmaga appealed for government to support the area by providing additional boats for villagers whose farms and other business activities depend on water transportation.
Speaking on the issue, the village head of Nasarawar Kifi, Alhaji Muhammadu Chigari, who was contacted on phone, confirmed the the tragic incident, describing it as unfortunate and disheartening.
He stated that the unfortunate incident has consumed the lives of 8 housewives, 3 babies and 4 youths.
Chigari added that local divers within the community have gone in search of the remaining missing persons.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Sokoto Field Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Aliyu Shehu, confirmed the incident to our correspondent.
Shehu said a team from NEMA in collaboration with the Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA) would visit the scene to ascertain the exact number of people involved in the mishap and provide relief materials for the victim’s families.
