An overturned boat floating in the water,
A pregnant woman and six children were among the eleven that reportedly lost their lives in a boat accident on River Benue in Makurdi Local Government Area of the State.
According to a local source who simply identified himself as Daniel, the victims were among the 40 people on board the ill-fated boat that capsized Saturday night.
According to Daniel, the victims were returning to Daududawadawa community, an island settlement behind the Nigerian Army School of Military Engineering Barracks located in North Bank area of the capital city, after they had gone to bury a relative who died earlier in the day.
The local source said that the incident happened in the middle of the river between 7 pm and 8 pm on Saturday during a heavy downpour, which was accompanied by a windstorm.
Confirming the incident, Commander of a local vigilante group, Operation Shara (Sweep), in North Bank, Nura Umar, who confirmed the incident said that the victims were returning from the burial of a woman from their community at Wadata.
Umar said, “The deceased woman had been taken to a private hospital in North Bank on Saturday morning, where she later died, and the relatives and sympathisers from the island community decided to take the remains to Wadata for her burial.
“After the burial, they boarded a boat to cross back to Daududawadawa community. At about 7 pm, heavy rain and strong winds started, and the boat capsized halfway into the journey.
“There were over 40 passengers aboard the boat, but 11 were feared dead. We have recovered four bodies so far and buried them, while divers are still searching for the remaining victims.
Umar further said that one of the survivors had a baby strapped to her back but lost the child in the accident.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, said she was yet to get any report about the incident.
The chairman of Makurdi local government, Joseph Keffi, could not be reached as his phone rang out.
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