A boat carrying over 300 passengers, mostly women and children, capsized during a Maulid celebration journey in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State on Tuesday.
The passengers were travelling from Mundi Community to Gbajibo Community for the festival when tragedy struck.
Confirming the tragedy, Alhaji Absullahi Baba-Arah, Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, stated on Wednesday that rescue attempts were underway to discover further survivors.
Baba-Arah said, “NSEMA received a report of a boat accident that occurred on the night of October 1, 2024, around 8:30 pm along the River Niger, upstream of Jebba Dam, at Gbajibo Community in Mokwa LGA.
“The boat, which was transporting about 300 passengers, mainly women and children from Mundi Community, was en route to Gbajibo for the Maulid celebration.
“NSEMA is coordinating search and rescue operations in partnership with the State Ministry of Transport, Mokwa Local Government Emergency Committee, local divers, and other community volunteers.
“Thanks to the swift response of the local volunteers, over 150 persons have been rescued alive so far.”
He informed everyone that the search and rescue operation was still ongoing and that more updates would be provided to the public when more survivors were found.
