From Rashidat AbdulRahman, Minna
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State has sympathized with the people of Lavun and Mokwa Local Government Areas over a boat mishap that led to loss of lives recently.
The governor, in a statement issued on Sunday, described the incident as tragic and unfortunate.
He expressed gratitude to the Niger State Emergency Agency (NSEMA) and members of the riverine community for their effort in the search operations and rescuing some of the victims.
According to him “this is really unfortunate for a large number of people to be involved in such disaster. However, thanks be to God for rescuing some of the victims even though we lost some of them.”
While commiserating with the family members of the deceased, the governor directed relevant agencies to take necessary steps to avert a recurrence.
Recall that at least six persons died while five others are still missing after their boat capsized on Kaduna River at Gbara in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State.
The Director-General, Niger state Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Ahmed Inga, who confirmed the incident in a statement in Minna on Saturday, said the boat mishap occured on Friday at about 6:30 PM.
Alhaji Inga revealed that the boat which took off from Lanchikagi village of Lavun LGA was heading to Gbara village.
He said 48 passengers were on board, adding they were returning from Danchitagi village market in Lavun.
According to him, 37 persons survived and six corpses recovered while five others are still missing.
The SEMA boss attributed the accident to heavy downpour accompanied by violent windstorm, adding that search and rescue operations were still ongoing to rescue the missing persons.