Alogani Community in the Lafia East Development Area of Nasarawa State has been thrown into mourning following the death of four persons in a boat accident.
Daily Trust gathered that the incident occured on Tuesday, when the victims were crossing to another neighbouring community along the Lafia-Shendam road, known as Ashangwa, on the market day.
It was learnt that the boat was overloaded with 25 passengers, 8 motorcycles and 4 bags of mellon (Egusi) when it capsized, leading to the death of four — 3 males and a female.
A source from the community told our correspondent that out of the 25 persons, 19 were rescued alive while 4 bodies were recovered. He added that eight motorcycles and the 4 bags of mellon were still missing.
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Abdulhamid Sale, a resident of the community, described the incident as disheartening.
The overseer of Lafia East Development Area, Barrister Haruna Muhammed, said investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident was ongoing.
While sympathising with the community and the families of the victims, he stated that the services of some divers and experienced fishermen had been engaged to recover the remaining bodies and property.
Our correspondent also reports that the Nasarawa State House of Assembly (NSHA) has passed into second reading a bill seeking the establishment of Nasarawa State Inland Waterways Regulation Agency to regulate the carriage of persons and goods across all waterways within the state.
The bill was sponsored by Larry Ven Bawa, the member representing Akwanga South.
Bawa said if the bill was passed into law, it would boost the socio-economic strength of the state by regulating the activities in the riverine communities as well as provide job opportunities for the teeming youths in the state and curb the trend of boat accidents.
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