A boat traveling across Njuwa Lake in Adamawa state has capsized killing eight people, with seven missing, an official has said.
The accident happened on Friday near Rugange village, Yola South local government area.
Suleiman Muhammad, executive secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency, told journalists in the capital Yola on Saturday that, “so far we have recovered eight dead bodies, rescued eight persons and we are still searching for about seven others.”
He said the boat capsized due to bad weather. “There was thunderstorm actually about the time they got on the boat,” he said.
A witness told Premium Times that the boat was carrying 23 people, amongst them farmers, traders and children.
He said only six passengers were rescued by local divers and a bigger boat, which arrived at the scene.
Latest boat accident
It is the latest reported boat accident in Nigeria. In August, 12 people died in a boat accident in Nasawara state.
In June, three people died in Calabar, Cross River state, during a ride at the popular Marina Resort.
The accident involved 14 medical students who were riding on a cruise boat.
The students had converged in the southern city from other schools in the country for the annual Nigerian Medical Students’ Association (NIMSA) health week.
A student union leader said the engine of the boat failed in the middle of the river and water started entering the boat which caused it to capsize.
Two weeks earlier, more than 100 people drowned after a boat carrying them down the River Niger in Kwara state capsized.
The vessel was carrying around 300 passengers travelling from Kwara state to Niger state after a wedding.
River accidents are common in that part of Nigeria. People who live in the villages bordering the River Niger often use the river as it can be faster than roads.
Boat operators often overload their rickety vessels in a bid to make more money.
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