Four Children Dead, 12 Hospitalized as Another Boat Capsizes in Zamfara

Tragedy struck in Zamfara State once again as a boat carrying 46 passengers, mostly children, capsized in Mashayar Garba Rogo, Bukkuyum Local Government area Zamfara State, Nigeria, on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

The incident, which occurred just days after a similar mishap in Gummi Local Government claimed over 30 lives, resulted in the death of four children, with two bodies recovered and two still missing but are still working tirelessly.

 Local resident Malam Aliyu Umar Bukkuyum confirmed that the boat was en route to a farm when it began to sway uncontrollably on that day of the incident.

Survivor Buhari Usman, who personally rescued 12 victims, recounted the ordeal.

“We managed to save a good number of the victims, but unfortunately, four children died,” he said. 

 Authorities, including the sole administrator of Bukkuyum, Nasiru Muhammad, attributed the incident to overloading and failure to follow proper boating guidelines that had been laid down to ensure the safety of passengers.

Read Also: Zamfara Government Confirms Death of 40 in Tragic Boat Accident

While search efforts are ongoing to recover the missing passengers, the government has vowed to prevent future tragedies from occurring.

“The government is caring for the 12 rescued victims at the hospital, and measures will be taken to avoid such accidents,” Muhammad stated.