Boat accident claims six in Kebbi

At least six people were confirmed dead while 15 missing when a passenger boat conveying 73 passengers collided with another boat conveying onions and five occupants to a local market along the tributary of the River Niger in Gebe village of Shanga Local Government Area of Kebbi State. Also, 60 other passengers were rescued.
Confirming the report to journalists in Birnin-Bebbi, the Executive Director of Kebbi State
Emergency Management Agency (KSEMA), Alhaji Abbas Rabiu Kamba, explained that the incident occurred on Tuesday night as the two boat operators could not sight each other.
He said the native divers were immediately mobilised to embark on rescue mission whereby 60 passengers were rescued and six dead bodies were recovered while 15 people were declared missing.

Kamba, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), warned that the state had already enacted law banning the boat operators from ferrying along the river after 6p.m. He added that the law was not relaxed and that anybody found violating it would summarily be dealt with.
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