No fewer than 42 people were yesterday drowned in a boat mishap on River Niger close to Malilli village in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger when traders were returning from Malilli Village to Tunga Illo village, after the day’s market.
The boat which had over 150 passengers capsized midway and drowned 42 people, while 100 others were missing. Local divers helped in recovering the corpses and are still looking for more. The Secretary to the State Government who confirmed the incident said; ''We believe that the boat was overloaded because the boat’s capacity was put at 60 passengers, but over 150 passengers were said to be on board during the incident. The debris in the swollen river may also have been responsible for the incident''
The recovered corpses would be given a mass burial close to the river bank, and neighboring villages have also been alerted to look out for floating corpses.
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