Benue: Boat Capsizes With Over 70 Mourners As 6 Missing

A boat carrying about seventy mourners crossing Buruku River in Buruku local government area of Benue State capsized as six occupants reportedly missing.

An eyewitness said the incident happened on Saturday as mourners who had crossed the River to attend burial ceremony were retuning back to their bases.

Confirming the incident, Chairman of Buruku Local Government Area, Raymond Zege, said the boat developed technical fault while the over seventy occupants were on the River.

According to Zege, “They are people from Gboko LG; they went for a burial to cross to the other side, but on their way back they overloaded the boat and the engine failed. You know, most of them are not conversant with water sounds, and they became panic and in the process began to struggle.

“But before they could get to the other boat coming to rescue them, they ran into water waves, and the weight of the boat made it sink,” he said.