Three persons have been declared missing following a boat accident on the shores of River Benue located in Ibi Local Government Area (LGA) of Taraba State.
The Chairman of Ibi LGA, Bala Bako, who confirmed this to Channels Television on Tuesday via a telephone interview shortly after the incident, identified the victims as a woman and two children.
He narrated that the boat which was fully loaded with passengers was headed to Sarkin Kudu Market, located on the other side of the river.
“While taking off from the coast, the boat’s engine started malfunctioning and suddenly went off,” Bako recounted. “In the course of restarting the engine, the boat drifted down and hit a building at the riverbank, causing it to break into two parts.”
The incident, according to the local government boss, threw the passengers on the boat into confusion as they fought for survival.
“Several passengers jumped out; some had to swim to safety while others were rescued,” he added. Unfortunately, and sad enough, a woman and two children were not seen, they got drowned. Efforts are on already to rescue them if possible.”
In a bid to prevent a reoccurrence of the incident, Bako said the council would provide life jackets to safeguard the lives of passengers, as well as passenger manifest for proper documentation.