Search continues after boat carrying mourners capsizes in Benue

Search and rescue efforts continued on Saturday after a boat carrying mourners capsized at the Buruku crossing in Benue State, leaving passengers missing.

The accident happened at about 11am on October 3 as the passengers returned from a burial across the river. The mourners were from neighbouring Gboko Local Government Area.

About six people remained unaccounted for in the council chairman’s account carried by Punch and Daily Post. A maritime worker told Daily Trust that seven were missing as of 2:30pm. Authorities had not established a final total.

Rescue figures also differed. Daily Post quoted the council chairman as saying more than 60 passengers had been rescued, while Daily Trust quoted witnesses who put the number above 120. Daily Trust’s account from the chairman gave a figure above 70.

The council chairman said the boat was overloaded and its engine failed during the return trip. He said passengers panicked and the vessel encountered strong waves before a rescue boat could reach them. Daily Post also cited an eyewitness who said more than 30 motorcycles were aboard.

Benue Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy Denis Iyaghigba said preliminary information indicated that a strong current swept the boat into an abandoned barge, causing it to overturn. That account remains preliminary; investigators had not released a finding on the cause.

The National Inland Waterways Authority’s Makurdi area manager, Andrew Mdama Ndahi, told Daily Trust that the agency had begun investigating. He said he would visit the scene on Monday.

The council chairman urged passengers to wear life jackets, saying the local government had supplied them but some commuters resisted enforcement. Iyaghigba directed boat operators and their union downstream to assist the search and said further information would be released as the operation progressed.

Sources: Punch, Daily Post, Daily Trust