KANO – Eighteen people, including 15 girls, drowned when their canoe capsized in a river in northeast Nigeria recently, said police.
Boat accidents are common in Africa’s most populous country because of overloading, disregard of safety guidelines, lack of maintenance and bad weather.
The canoe was ferrying passengers to a farm on the other side of the Buji River in Bauchi state when it overturned on Friday, said police spokesman Ahmed Mohammed Wakil in a statement.
“Corpses were removed from the river and taken to General Hospital Itas.
“A doctor certified 18 people dead.”
A list of the victims showed 15 of them were girls, aged between 8 and 15, while the other three were male youth aged between 20 and 30.
“Five (passengers) were rescued,” said Wakil.
Loss of life is typically high when these accidents occur, as many boats do not carry sufficient life jackets and few people know how to swim.
In September, 12 people were killed in two boat accidents, while 10 died in August. – AFP, November 15, 2020
