Seventeen children have been confirmed dead in a boat mishap which occurred on River Dandeji in Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The Chairman of the council chairman, Aliyu Dantani, said the children died when the boat in which they were travelling capsized and emptied the children and other passengers into the river.
Dantami confirmed the accident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Sokoto on Wednesday.
He said the accident occurred in the morning of Tuesday, May 9, 2023.
Dantami said the corpses were recovered with the help of local divers, saying that all of them were buried according to Islamic rites at about 2:30pm on Tuesday.
He said the victims were among about 40 girls and boys and other passengers going to fetch firewood at a bush across the river.
The Chairman said some of the passengers swam to safety while the victims could not make it.
He said search was still ongoing for others.
A resident, Mamman Ibrahim, said the accident was reported by a canoe owner, adding that while 17 corpses were recovered, local divers are still searching for other victims.
NAN recalled that a similar incident occurred on April 13, 2022 at Gidan Magana village where 29 persons mostly teenagers died.
The deceased were also on their way to fetch firewood, a traditional activity of children in the area, who are mostly out of school.
(NAN/vitalnewsngr.com)
