40 Feared Dead as Canoe Capsizes in Jigawa
No fewer than 40 people are feared dead after a canoe carrying women and primary school children capsized in Ringim Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, confirmed that at least 40 people lost their lives in the tragic incident. However, police authorities said one body had been recovered while search and rescue operations were still ongoing to locate the remaining victims.
Emergency responders, local divers and volunteers have been deployed to the scene as efforts continue to recover victims and determine the full extent of the tragedy.
The Director of Planning at the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, Muhammad Bala Sanusi, said rescue operations were still in progress and assured that more information would be made available as the exercise continued.
Preliminary reports indicated that the victims were returning home after school when the canoe overturned. The exact cause of the accident has yet to be established, while authorities have commenced investigations.
The incident has again highlighted the dangers associated with water transportation in many rural communities across northern Nigeria, where rivers often serve as the only means of transportation during the rainy season. Safety experts have continued to call for stricter enforcement of water transport regulations, the use of life jackets and improved investment in safer waterway transportation to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
