No fewer than 41 persons are feared dead in a boat accident in Gummi town, the headquarters of Gummi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
An eyewitness, who is an indigene of the town, Abubakar Muhammad, told reporters that the victims were going to their farms in the early hours of Saturday when the vessel capsized.
Mohammed stated there were 53 farmers in the boat, and only 12 were rescued alive, including the captain of the boat, and the remaining 41 were dead.
He said, “When the boat capsized today, Saturday morning, I was one of those who were present near the river close to Gummi town.
“Immediately, the boat capsized. It sank into the river with all the passengers.
“We did our best to rescue them, but unfortunately, we were only able to bring out 12 people alive, including the captain of the boat.
“The bodies of the other 41 passengers were evacuated out of the water.”
Confirming the accident, the sole administrator of Gummi Local Government Area, Alhaji Na’Allah Musa, said the vessel was overloaded.
According to him, the captain of the vessel told the passengers that some of them must come down, but all of them refused to listen.
He said, “There were many people on the boat, and the captain did all he could to reduce the number, but nobody wanted to be left behind.
“When he did all he could to reduce the number but failed, he was left with no option but to start going.
“As he moved forward, the boat capsized and sank into the river due to overloading.
“Only four of the passengers were able to swim out of the river, while the rescue operators were able to save others.
“There were many casualties, but actually I can’t say exactly how many of them have died because we are still looking for other missing passengers.”
The Emir of Gummi Justice, Lawal Hassan (RTD), in a condolence message on the Gummi Emirate Facebook page, sympathised with the families of all those who have lost their lives in the incident.
He described the accident as very tragic and prayed Allah to forgive all those who have lost their lives and give their families the fortitude to bear the loss.
He said, “This boat mishap that occurred today, September 14, 2024, is really tragic and sad.”.
“I wish to console those who have lost their loved ones in the incident.”.
“I pray to Allah to forgive all those who have lost their lives and give their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”.
