The death toll from a boat accident at Gorau community on the Goronyo River in Sokoto State has risen to 53, as rescue teams continue searching for passengers still missing after the vessel capsized.
The boat, carrying farmers and other passengers travelling to rice farms for harvest, overturned shortly after leaving Gorau community on Wednesday.
The casualty figures have continued to change as rescue workers and local residents recover bodies from the river, with authorities giving different figures as the search operation continues.
The National Inland Waterways Authority initially confirmed 41 deaths, while the Sokoto State Police Command later reported that 46 bodies had been recovered.
The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmed Rufai, said 77 people were believed to have been on board the vessel.
“Out of 77 persons on board, seven persons were rescued alive, 46 dead bodies recovered while 24 persons declared missing,” Rufai said.
However, a local journalist who witnessed the incident, Sharhabilu Kiliya, said the number of recovered bodies had risen to 53 after seven additional corpses were brought in and buried.
“We have buried 46 people so far, and seven dead bodies have just been brought in this evening. The death toll is 53,” Kiliya said.
He said more than 70 people were on the boat when it capsized, adding that about six people, including the village head, had been rescued.
The NIWA Area Manager in Sokoto, Abdulkadir Yusuf, gave another estimate, saying the vessel was carrying about 82 passengers, including the community leader, when the accident occurred.
Yusuf said 41 bodies had been buried in different communities, while 11 survivors had been reunited with their families as the search for missing passengers continued.
He attributed the accident to suspected negligence, overloading and violations of established waterway safety regulations.
According to him, personnel from NIWA, the National Emergency Management Agency, the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross Society and local volunteers were participating in the search and rescue operation.
The lawmaker representing the affected area in the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Nasiru Adamu, said many of the passengers were children between the ages of 10 and 15.
Adamu said 16 people had been rescued, describing the incident as a devastating tragedy for the affected communities.
He called for intensified rescue efforts to locate passengers who remained unaccounted for and provide support to affected families.
The Head of the NEMA Sokoto Operations Office, Tukur Abubakar, also confirmed the accident and acknowledged the reported fatalities.
“It is true that the boat has unfortunately capsized and there are reported fatalities,” Abubakar said.
He explained that government officials had returned from the scene and were working with the Sokoto State Government to reconcile the casualty figures.
The conflicting figures from different authorities have made it difficult to establish the exact number of people who were on board and those who remain missing.
Meanwhile, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress in Sokoto State, Manir Muhammad Dan’Iya, expressed sadness over the tragedy and called for an immediate expansion of rescue operations.
In a statement issued by his media aide, Aminu Abdullahi, Dan’Iya urged the state government and emergency agencies to deploy additional rescue personnel, medical teams and equipment to Gorau.
He also extended his condolences to the families of the victims, the Gorau community, Goronyo Local Government Area and the people of Sokoto State.
The tragedy has renewed concerns over the safety of river transportation in communities along the Sokoto-Rima River, particularly during the rainy season when water levels and currents can become more dangerous.
Overloading, inadequate enforcement of waterway safety regulations and limited access to safer means of transportation have frequently been identified as factors contributing to boat accidents in riverine communities.
The latest incident also highlights the vulnerability of farming communities that depend on waterways to access agricultural locations, particularly during harvest seasons.
Authorities and emergency agencies have continued to urge boat operators and passengers to comply with waterway safety regulations, avoid overloading and use life jackets.
They have also stressed the importance of timely reporting of emergencies to enable rescue agencies to respond quickly.
West Trybe reports that the Gorau boat tragedy is one of the deadliest recent waterway accidents in the region, with the rising casualty figures highlighting the urgent need for stricter enforcement of waterway safety standards, improved rescue capacity and safer transportation options for riverine communities.
