Up to 90 people are missing and presumed drowned after a Nigerian river ferry sank in floodwaters near where a bridge was washed away last week, officials and witnesses said on Tuesday.
The overcrowded boat capsized on Monday as it carried traders across the Lamurde river near Jalingo, the capital of Taraba state, about 400km east of the Nigerian capital, Abuja, a government official said in a telephone call from the city.
Taraba state government spokesperson Mathew Eliud Jen said 102 people were reportedly on board the ferry and only 10 were rescued, although local journalists said rescued passengers mentioned a smaller figure.
”One man managed to swim to safety and eight more were rescued by local divers, but the others are missing. Passengers said there had been about 70 on board,” said television cameraman Abdulkarim Mohammed, who was at the scene.
The government spokesperson said the locally built wooden boat, which was powered by a scavenged engine, hit a fallen tree before tipping over in fast-flowing water.
Local newspaper reporter Magaji Hunkrui said the ferry was pressed into service after the collapse last week of the Nukkai Bridge, which fell as the Lamurde broke its banks and swept through a residential district.
Fifteen bodies were recovered after the collapse of the bridge, which was packed with spectators marvelling at the power of the floodwaters. But the state official said others are still missing and that up to 50 could have died.
”At this time of the year, heavy rain in the Cameroon mountains rushes down into Taraba,” Jen said, adding that rescue teams are still in the area looking for more bodies.
The annual wet season has caused a spate of recent boat and road accidents in Nigeria. — AFP
