Scores Feared Dead As Boat Capsizes In Sokoto

• Scores of people are feared dead after a boat carrying residents to their farms capsized in a river in Gorau town, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, on Thursday.

• An official of the National Inland Waterways Authority said 47 people had died “so far”, while residents reported recovering dozens of bodies from the scene of the tragedy.

• Most of the victims were reportedly women and children who were travelling to their farms during the rainy season, when farming activities increase across the community.

• Residents described the incident as devastating, saying almost every household in the community had been affected by the boat accident.

August 20, () — Scores of people are feared dead after a boat carrying farm workers capsized in a river in Gorau town, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, on Thursday.

The boat was conveying residents to their farms when it overturned, throwing the passengers into the river in what has become one of the latest major boat accidents reported in the state.

Abdulkadir Yusuf, Sokoto State Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), confirmed the incident, saying 47 people had died “so far”.

The official’s statement indicated that the death toll could rise as recovery efforts continue and authorities establish the full number of people who were aboard the boat.

Residents of the community also gave grim accounts of the disaster, saying dozens of bodies had been recovered from the water.

A 55-year-old resident, Samaila Garba, said his 13-year-old granddaughter, Jamila Usman, was among those who died in the accident.

Garba said he personally counted at least 42 bodies recovered after the boat capsized, adding that most of the victims were women and children.

“You know, during the rainy season, most women and children go to the farm to work”, he told the Associated Press.

Another resident, Aminu Dan Hajiya, said he regularly uses the same waterway to access his farm and considered himself fortunate not to have been on the boat when the incident occurred.

According to him, the scale of the tragedy was such that nearly every household in the community had been affected.

“In fact, almost every household in the community has been affected”, he said.

The accident occurred amid increased farming activities during the rainy season, when residents in the riverine communities often depend on boats and other watercraft to travel to their farms.

The latest incident has again raised concerns over the safety of inland water transportation, particularly in rural communities where boats are a major means of movement during the farming season.