By Innocent Orok
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has described the recent boat mishap in Niger State as unfortunate amidst her increasing efforts to reduce such incidents. This was contained in a preliminary statement issued on the sad incident by the Authority earlier on Wednesday.
The NIWA management confirmed that the accident involving a wooden boat with about 200 passengers on board was travelling from Gbajibo Mudi to New Gbajibo at about 8:30pm in the night when it suddenly capsized.
According to NIWA, preliminary findings shows that the incident might be due to the overloading of the passengers in the boat.
While the Authority maintained that rescue efforts are still ongoing, it said as at the last count, it has rescued more than 100 passengers from different parts of the channel.
The Authority therefore warns boat operators to desist from flouting safety rules, including ban on night travels and overloading of boats.