41 feared dead in Zamfara boat accident

File photo: A capsized boat

Forty-one 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 PUNCH Online that the deceased were going to their farms in the early hours of Saturday when the boat capsized.

Mohammed said 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 sunk into the river with all the passengers.

“We did our best to rescue them, but unfortunately, we were only able to bring out 12 persons alive, including the captain of the boat.

“The bodies of the other 41 passengers were evacuated out of the water.”

Confirming the accident to PUNCH Online on the telephone, the Sole Administrator, Gummi Local Government Area, Alhaji Na’Allah Musa, said the boat was overloaded.

According to him, the captain of the boat 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 sunk 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.”