APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
Seventeen boys and girls were reported drowned when the boat they were travelling in capsized in Dandeji River in Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State in northern Nigeria.
According to local media reports on Wednesday, the Chairman of Shagari Local Government Area, Alhaji Aliyu Dantani, who confirmed the boat mishap, said that the accident occurred on Tuesday morning and that the corpses were evacuated by local divers and were buried according to Islamic rites.
He disclosed that about 40 girls and boys were on their way to fetch firewood at a nearby bush when the boat capsized and that some of the passengers swam to safety, while the search for others was still ongoing.
The reports recalled that a similar incident occurred on April 13, 2022 at Gidan Magana village in the state and 29 persons mostly teenagers died.
GIK/APA