River Niger claims 18 again •As 60 survive boat accident in Niger

AGAIN, tragedy struck over the weekend when a boat mishap occurred with 80 people on board thrown into waster as the craft capsised between Kokoli and Ulakami villages of Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
About 18 persons had been reported dead as of the time of filing this report.
Exactly one week ago, about 30 persons drowned on the River Niger at Malili village in the same local government area. One hundred and fifty people were on board that boat.
Sunday Tribune findings further revealed that the latest mishap occurred when the boat conveying passengers who had also gone to trade at the weekly Thursday market from Kokoli to Ulakami broke into two at about 4.00 p.m.
It was further learnt that the boat was conveying about 80 people when it suddenly splitted, throwing the passengers overboard.
A survivor, Umar Ibrahim, who spoke with Sunday Tribune, narrated that they were in the middle of the 10-kilometre journey, when the boat split and threw all of them into the water.
“We had just gotten to the middle of the journey when the boat split into two. People started screaming, falling into the water one after the other,” he said.
Ibrahim stated further that he was able to rescue about 10 people, all were women and children, adding that the men could take care of themselves.
He added that but for the immediate intervention of the boat captains and passengers who could swim, it would have been a bigger disaster as he was not sure that he too would survived,  “because the bank of the river was far away from us.”
Some villagers who spoke with journalists attributed the accident to unnatural causes, saying “the river is angry because it has not been given its yearly sacrifice.”
But others maintained that the boat was too old and had, obviously, not been adequately maintained.
Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu on Disaster and Emergency Management, Alhaji Mohammed Saba, has commiserated with the people of the community on behalf of the state government.
He confided in Sunday Tribune that the state government had donated N500, 000 for the burial of the 18 victims whose remains had been recovered.
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