Video Shows Passengers in Overloaded Boat Moments Before Capsizing in Niger State
A distressing video has surfaced showing passengers aboard an overloaded boat moments before it capsized in Niger State.
The boat, which set off from Mundi Village and was heading to Gbajibo Village in Mokwa local council, was transporting passengers after the local market day on Tuesday, October 1, 2024.
In footage shared by Channels Television, the passengers are seen tightly packed together without life jackets, raising concerns about the safety conditions.
Shortly after the video was recorded, the boat tragically capsized. The locally constructed wooden vessel, designed to carry a maximum of 100 passengers, was reportedly overloaded with around 300 people when it overturned in the rural Mokwa district, an emergency official confirmed on Wednesday, October 2.
By late Tuesday night, a coordinated rescue operation involving the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), the Niger State National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and local divers had recovered 70 bodies and rescued 150 survivors. The search for the remaining missing passengers continues.
Watch the video below.