A joyous celebration suddenly turned into tragedy when an overloaded wooden boat transporting a large wedding party capsized in a remote part of Nigeria, killing more than 100 people.
The accident — one of the worst of its kind in recent years — happened Monday night in the Niger River separating two neighboring states.
By Wednesday, the death toll from the disaster has risen to 106, including multiple children. The names of the victims have not been released.
Police spokesman Okasani Ajayi said at least 144 people have been rescued over the past two days by first responders and local villagers — and he believed that more survivors could still be out there.
The boat was ferrying people from Niger state to neighboring Kwara state after a wedding ceremony when it keeled over, sending passengers into the river.
Local residents estimated the vessel carried close to 300 wedding guests.
Most of those who drowned were relatives from several communities who attended the wedding held in the village of Egboti, according to Abdul Gana Lukpada, a local chief.
They arrived at the celebration on motorcycles but were forced to leave on the boat at night after a downpour flooded the road, he said.
As the locally built wooden craft moved through the Niger River, one of Africa’s largest stretching about 2,500 miles, it struck a log and split in two, said Lukpada.
Most villagers were not aware of the accident until hours later because it happened around 3 a.m., Lukpada added.
Fearing abductions by armed gangs on the roads, many Nigerians use boats to travel in remote parts of the country.
Overcrowding and poor maintenance are responsible for most boat accidents on Nigerian waterways, which are not uncommon.
Lukpada urged authorities to fix the roads in the district so that people won’t always resort to water transportation.
“If our roads were good, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu ordered officials to provide immediate assistance to the survivors and families of the capsize victims.
“That the victims were guests at a wedding ceremony made the unfortunate accident more painful,” he said, according to a statement released by the presidential office.
“President Tinubu promised that his administration would look into the challenges of inland water transportation in the country to ensure the matter of safety and operational standards are strictly adhered to,” the statement added.
With Post wires