Idadi ya watu waliofariki dunia kufuatia ajali ya boti kaskazini magharibi mwa Nigeria imeongezeka na kufikia 52. Ajali hiyo ilitokea karibu na mji wa Gorau katika Jimbo la Sokoto baada ya boti hiyo kupinduka ikiwa njiani kuelekea kwenye mashamba ya mpunga.
Wengi wa waathiriwa wanaripotiwa kuwa watoto wa umri kati ya miaka 10 na 15, huku miili ya watoto takriban 40 ikiwa tayari imepatikana. Viongozi wa eneo hilo wamethibitisha kuwa karibu kila familia katika jamii hiyo imeathiriwa na msiba huo mzito.
Soma pia: Somalia: Watu 24 wafariki dunia baada ya boti kupinduka Bahari ya Hindi
Mamlaka zimetaja chanzo kikuu cha ajali hiyo kuwa ni boti kupakia abiria zaidi ya 70, jambo linalozidi uwezo wake. Ajali kama hizi zimekuwa zikitokea mara kwa mara nchini Nigeria kutokana na usafiri unaozidisha uzito, ubovu wa vyombo, na kutozingatiwa kwa sheria za usalama wa majini.
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The death toll from a boat accident in northwest Nigeria has risen to 52, according to officials.
Authorities in Sokoto State reported on Friday morning that the number of people killed when the overloaded vessel capsized had risen to 52. The majority of the victims are reported to have been children.
“We are about to meet with officials of the local government to know the families of the victims,” Tukur Abubakar, head of operations at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Sokoto State, said.
Abdulkadir Yusuf, an area manager at the National Inland Waterways Authority, said on Thursday that the bodies of at least 40 children had been found.
Nasiru Adamu, a lawmaker at the Sokoto State legislature said that those onboard were mostly aged between 10 and 15 years old.
Abdullahi Ghani, spokesperson for the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), told the Anadolu news agency that authorities were still at the scene assessing the situation and working to determine the exact number of people involved in the accident.
A former councillor in Gorau told the AFP news agency that dozens had already been buried.
Resident Samaila Garba said his 13-year-old granddaughter, Jamila Usman, was among the dead.
“You know, during the rainy season, most women and children go to the farm to work,” he told the Associated Press.
The boat was carrying farmers and workers to rice farms when it overturned crossing a waterway near Gorau town in the Goronyo Local Government Area.
One resident, Aminu Dan Hajiya, said he goes to his farm using the same waterway and considers himself lucky not to have been on the boat.
“In fact, almost every household in the community has been affected,” he told AP.
Local residents said the boat was carrying more than 70 people when it capsized.
Boating accidents are common with dozens drowning each year on Nigeria’s busy rivers and waterways, often caused by overloading, poor maintenance or failure to comply with safety regulations.
A boat capsized in Jigawa State last month, with at least five people reported to have drowned.
In January, at least 26 people drowned when a boat carrying farmers and fishermen from Jigawa to Yobe State turned over.
Source: Aljazeera
Wengi wa waathiriwa wanaripotiwa kuwa watoto wa umri kati ya miaka 10 na 15, huku miili ya watoto takriban 40 ikiwa tayari imepatikana. Viongozi wa eneo hilo wamethibitisha kuwa karibu kila familia katika jamii hiyo imeathiriwa na msiba huo mzito.
Soma pia: Somalia: Watu 24 wafariki dunia baada ya boti kupinduka Bahari ya Hindi
Mamlaka zimetaja chanzo kikuu cha ajali hiyo kuwa ni boti kupakia abiria zaidi ya 70, jambo linalozidi uwezo wake. Ajali kama hizi zimekuwa zikitokea mara kwa mara nchini Nigeria kutokana na usafiri unaozidisha uzito, ubovu wa vyombo, na kutozingatiwa kwa sheria za usalama wa majini.
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The death toll from a boat accident in northwest Nigeria has risen to 52, according to officials.
Authorities in Sokoto State reported on Friday morning that the number of people killed when the overloaded vessel capsized had risen to 52. The majority of the victims are reported to have been children.
“We are about to meet with officials of the local government to know the families of the victims,” Tukur Abubakar, head of operations at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Sokoto State, said.
Abdulkadir Yusuf, an area manager at the National Inland Waterways Authority, said on Thursday that the bodies of at least 40 children had been found.
Nasiru Adamu, a lawmaker at the Sokoto State legislature said that those onboard were mostly aged between 10 and 15 years old.
Abdullahi Ghani, spokesperson for the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), told the Anadolu news agency that authorities were still at the scene assessing the situation and working to determine the exact number of people involved in the accident.
A former councillor in Gorau told the AFP news agency that dozens had already been buried.
Resident Samaila Garba said his 13-year-old granddaughter, Jamila Usman, was among the dead.
“You know, during the rainy season, most women and children go to the farm to work,” he told the Associated Press.
The boat was carrying farmers and workers to rice farms when it overturned crossing a waterway near Gorau town in the Goronyo Local Government Area.
One resident, Aminu Dan Hajiya, said he goes to his farm using the same waterway and considers himself lucky not to have been on the boat.
“In fact, almost every household in the community has been affected,” he told AP.
Local residents said the boat was carrying more than 70 people when it capsized.
Boating accidents are common with dozens drowning each year on Nigeria’s busy rivers and waterways, often caused by overloading, poor maintenance or failure to comply with safety regulations.
A boat capsized in Jigawa State last month, with at least five people reported to have drowned.
In January, at least 26 people drowned when a boat carrying farmers and fishermen from Jigawa to Yobe State turned over.
Source: Aljazeera
