Zamfara Boat Mishap: 22 Persons Still Missing, Officials Recover 10 Bodies

• Extend search to neighbouring villages
• Eyewitnesses, Survivors, victims’ families speak on accident 

Officials have confirmed recovering corpses of 10 of the victims of the boat accident that occurred on Saturday, September 14 at Gummi, Gummi Local Government Area of Zamfara State

The bodies were reportedly recovered on Tuesday night, even as the search for 22 other passengers missing from the boat accident continues five days after the mishap.

Competent sources said the boat capsized in the Mashayar Yan Tauri River and unfortunately sank with all the passengers on board, adding the overloaded boat collided with an oncoming empty boat that had gone to reduce some of the passengers to prevent it from capsizing.

According to the Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA) on Thursday, the search for missing persons has also been extended to neighbouring villages.

Confirming the recovery, the Secretary of the Gummi Emirate Council, Alhaji Mahmud S. Fada, said the 10 bodies were buried where they were discovered.

He also said the Emirate has introduced a standard limit of 20 passengers per boat for operators in all the rivers across the emirate with a Committee already set up to enforce the new order.

The Emirate Council Scribe further explained that; “The emir has ordered that henceforth, no boat would be allowed to carry more than 20 passengers. The emirate will also source for additional boats to be distributed to all rivers within the emirate. Where we have three boats, four additional boats will be provided to ease transportation hardship faced by our people”.

Corpses Found In Different Locations 
One of the residents of Gummi, Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi, informed reporters that the 10 corpses were recovered at different locations far away from the Mashayar Yan Tauri River.

He said: “We could not bring back the corpses to Gummi town from the villages they were discovered because they have decomposed beyond recognition. Very few of them were brought to Gummi town for burial. Most of the victims were recognised by their clothes.”

Eyewitness Speaks On Incident
Malam Abdulra’uf Abdullahi told Daily Trust that he was among the initial 40 passengers that boarded the boat, but disembarked after the captain requested a reduction of passengers.

He said: “When the captain realised the boat was overloaded, he asked the passengers to reduce their numbers, but they refused. His elder brother also warned him not to drive the boat until he reduced the passengers.

“So, the captain was about to take off when his elder brother came with the second boat. He was trying to move closer to the overloaded boat to reduce the passengers when suddenly his boat hit the edge of the overloaded boat and it immediately capsized because of the load it carried”, the eyewitness said.

Another person who also escaped the tragedy, Ibrahim Aminu, said: “People have tried their best to rescue the victims, but unfortunately very few were rescued. It goes like a mystery because whenever we rushed to rescue the victims, they would just sink and disappear.

“We saw some of them when the boat capsized. But when we tried to rescue them, they disappeared. Honestly, the tragedy is mysterious to many people in this community. Immediately the boat capsized and the victims disappeared within a few minutes, and all efforts to rescue them failed”.

Reliable sources stated that of the 40 passengers who initially boarded the boat, only eight of them were able to escape alive from the accident.

My Narrow Escape – Survivor
Narrating his narrow escape from the tragedy, one of the survivors of the incident, Dan Tani told reporters; “I was inside the boat when it was hit by the other boat and it started sinking. I am familiar with the river. So, when the boat started sinking, I quickly disembarked from it and started swimming to save my life.

“By the time I reached the bank of the river, I was completely exhausted. I was assisted by some good Samaritans who pulled me out of the river. I spent almost an hour without uttering a word after I was pulled out from the river.

“It is tragic to fall victim to a boat mishap. I was only swimming hoping to escape. If not for God who spared my life, I would have been among the deceased. Alhamdulillah, I survived it”.

Victims’ Families Speak
The Galadiman Gummi, Alhaji Muhammad Bello, who lost his son, Abdul-Nasir, in the incident, described it as “sad and painful”.

Bello said; “Our major concern is that we have not seen the corpses of our loved ones four days after the incident. We have searched several places, but we could not see them.

“It is a very sad moment for us the affected families. I always remember my last moment with Abdul-Nasir. We were sitting at the frontage of our house planning how to go to the farm that very day. He said to me that he could not wait until his brother returned the motorcycle we intended to ride to the farm.

“He asked for money to board the boat and I gave him. After about 30 minutes, his friends rushed to my house and informed me that Abdul-Nasir and several other people had drowned in the river”

Malam Mansur Abdullahi, who also lost his brother in the accident, said: “It is painful to lose an intimate brother in this manner. I am always together with my younger brother, Hamza Abdullahi. We boarded the same boat that day, but I and a few others got down when the captain complained about overload.

“We were going to the farm together. But when the captain complained about overload, I disembarked. That’s how we were separated. I would have also fallen victim to the disaster. But as God would have it, I am still alive,” he said.

ZEMA Searches Neighbouring Villages
The Executive Secretary of the Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA), Ambassador Bala Ahmad, while reacting to the unfortunate development, said the Agency was working hand-in-hand with locals to recover bodies that were still missing.

Disclosing that the search efforts had been extended to neighbouring villages, Ahmad said; “You know, the water is usually taking corpses to other destinations.”

He said the State government had sent a delegation to Gummi town to sympathise with the relations of the victims, adding that the delegation, led by Deputy Governor, Mani Malam Mumini, had presented a cash donation of N20 million to the affected families on behalf of the state government. – With Daily Trust report