40 persons reportedly died on Sunday when a boat carrying them capsized in the Bakin Kasuwa River at Uban Dawaki community in the Gummi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The state government has confirmed the deaths through the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Sulaiman Idris, who said the governor described the incident as a monumental disaster.
“We received the tragic report of a boat accident in Bakin Kasuwa River in Uban Dawaki ward, Gummi Local Government Area, resulting in the loss of over 40 lives,” he said in a statement.
This is as more than 35 Muslim faithful travelling to Samunaka in Kaduna State to celebrate the Eid-el-Maulud, died in a ghastly motor accident when the J5 bus conveying them had a head-on collision with an articulated vehicle near Samunaka, in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Reacting to the incident, one of the organizers of the Eid celebration told journalists that they had moved 35 other victims to a medical facility in nearby Plateau State, where they were receiving treatment.
He added that one of their vehicles also clashed with a motorbike, leaving some of the occupants dead and others injured, saying “I did the headcount, there were about 70 people including women and children. It was a sad development. We’ve taken the injured to JUTH in Jos for medical attention.”
