Iran Press/ Africa: The incident occurred four days ago due to overloading. On Friday, rescuers found the boat wreckage and removed it from the water after a four-hour operation that required additional personnel.
The Ebu Community is located about 25 minutes from Egboti Community, and there is no tarred road linking the neighboring communities except by water.
According to Kwara State Police Command, the boat was carrying 250 people from Gbotl village in Niger State to Patigi in Kwara after a wedding ceremony when one part of the boat by the engine side collapsed, causing it to capsize.
All efforts to draw attention for assistance proved abortive, leading to the deaths of 106 people initially reported. However, as of Friday, 144 people had lost their lives. Muhammad Abubakar, who lost his wife and two children in the incident, spoke about it to Iran Press.
According to eyewitness accounts, a tragic incident occurred when a canoe carrying a family of eight broke down on the river.
The father instructed those who could swim to jump out of the canoe, but as they did so, the canoe began to sink. The father managed to rescue one son and his daughter, but his wife and another son were lost in the incident.
The lack of life jackets and regulation of passenger loads were cited as contributing factors by another eyewitness involved in rescue efforts. The government was urged to provide life jackets and create a task force to regulate passenger loads in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The 144 individuals who lost their lives have since been buried. This news has been edited in Reuters style for clarity and brevity.
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More than 100 killed after boat capsizes in Nigeria
