No fewer than 29 people, including Islamiyya school children have been confirmed dead in Tuesday boat mishap in Bagwai River in Bagwai Local Government Area of Kano State.
The boat, according to reports, had about 50 passengers aboard, including Islamic school children going to an Islamic event.
Speaking on the casualties figures, the police spokesperson in Kano, Abdullahi Kiyawa, said that 36 passengers had been accounted for from the incident.
He said 29 of them were confirmed dead by medical doctors, while seven others were rescued, and were recieving treatment at Bagwai hospital.
Mr Kiyawa said among the 29 corpses recovered, 21 were females while eight were males.
The victims rescued alive include four females and three males, the police said.
The boat was conveying Islamiyah school children and other passengers from Badau village to Bagwai town, the council headquarters.
The victims were on their way to Tofa local government area further afield for the Maulud celebration.
The police said a rescue mission was ongoing involving local fishermen, fire service officials and the police as of Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, Governor Abdullah Ganduje, in a statement through his media aide, Abba Anwar, condoled with the families of the deceased, describing the incident as a state tragedy.
“While we pray to Allah to forgive and bless the souls of those who died and pray for a quick recovery of those who are in the hospital receiving medical attention, I urge boats operators to always take the issue of overload very seriously,” the statement said.
Ganduje appealed to boat operators to avoid overloading, and “they (boat operators) should know that they can still get profit without overloading their boats,” he urged.
