ZCZC
BFF-41
NIGERIA-ACCIDENT
18 dead including children in Nigeria boat accident
KANO, Nigeria, Nov 14, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Eighteen people including
15 young girls drowned when a boat capsized in a river in northeast
Nigeria, police said on Saturday.
Boat accidents are common in Africa’s most populous country because
of overloading, disregard of safety guidelines, lack of maintenance
and bad weather.
The boat was ferrying passengers to a farm on the other side of
Buji River, in Bauchi state, when it overturned on Friday, police
spokesman Ahmed Mohammed Wakil said in a statement.
“Corpses were removed from the river and taken to General Hospital
Itas,” Wakil said. “A medical doctor certified 18 people dead.”
A list of the victims showed 15 of them were girls between the ages
of eight and 15 while the other three were males aged between 20 and
30.
“Five (passengers) were rescued,” Wakil added.
Loss of life is typically high when these accidents occur as many
boats do not carry sufficient lifejackets and few learn how to swim.
In September, 12 people were killed in two boat accidents while 10
were killed in August.
BSS/AFP/MRU/2305hrs