Boat mishap claims over 40 lives in Zamfara

At least 40 people have been reported dead following a boat mishap in Gummi town, Zamfara State.

According to local resident Musa Ahmed, the tragedy occurred early Saturday morning as the victims were en route to their farms. The boat capsized and sank into the river.

Ahmed revealed that there were 53 people on the boat, including farmers and children. Only 12 individuals, including the boat’s captain, were rescued alive. The bodies of the remaining 41 passengers were recovered from the water.

Ahmed, who was near the river at the time of the incident, described the scene: “When the boat capsized, it immediately sank with all the passengers. Despite our efforts to rescue them, we could only bring out 12 people alive, including the captain. The other 41 bodies were retrieved from the water.”

The Sole Administrator of Gummi Local Government Area, Na’Allah Musa, indicated that the boat was overloaded. The captain had advised passengers to disembark to reduce weight, but the passengers refused.

Musa explained, “The captain attempted to offload some passengers to lighten the boat, but no one agreed to get off. Unable to resolve the situation, the boat was forced to set off. It capsized and sank due to overloading. Only four passengers managed to swim to safety, while rescue teams were able to save others. The exact number of casualties is still uncertain as we continue searching for missing passengers.”