Over 100 passengers missing as boat capsizes in Benue River

A boat carrying more than 100 passengers capsized in the middle of the Benue River on Saturday.

According to reports from Daily Trust, the ill-fated boat was transporting traders, women, and children who were en route to Binnari town in the Karim-Lamido local government area of the state. Many of the passengers had just visited the Mayoreneyo fish market in Ardo-Kola LGA.

The boat had departed from the Mayoreneyo local jetty around 3:30 pm and tragically capsized just 40 minutes later, as per eyewitness accounts.

Musa Mayoreneyo, a resident of Mayoreneyo, revealed that the boat had earlier transported the passengers from Binnari to Mayoreneyo.

In a telephone interview, a Binnari resident sadly mentioned that, “As I am talking to you now, only the bodies of two persons have been recovered by local divers.”

It was reported that none of the passengers had life jackets when the accident occurred, according to a source at the Mayoreneyo local jetty.

Jidda Mayoreneyo, the Acting chairman of inland water transporters in Taraba state, informed Daily Trust that approximately 15 bodies were found near the accident site.

Chairman of the caretaker committee of Ardo-Kola, Alhaji Dalhatu Kawu, confirmed the incident, describing it as a tragic event.

When contacted, the Police spokesman in Taraba, SP Abdullahi Usman, stated that he had not yet received a report on the incident.