Following a boat accident in Kwata along Zumba market, in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, the State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has confirmed the recovery of 13 bodies.

Sunday Telegraph had earlier reported that the boat accident occurred on Saturday around 11:45 am, when the boat loaded with goods and passengers capsized on its way to a weekly market in the area.

Confirming the development, the Director General of NSEMA, Alhaji Abdullahi Baba Arah, announced the casualty figure in a statement issued by the Director, Information and Special Duties, Dr Ibrahim Hussaini.

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According to the statement, the driver of the boat and few passengers were earlier rescued, with some of them admitted in General Hospital Kuta and later discharged.

He noted that the number of casualties is yet to be ascertained as search and rescue operations are still on going by the agency’s operatives, local divers and volunteers in the community.

It would be recalled that, in a bid to forstal frequent boat accidents in the state, Niger State government through NSEMA, National Hydro Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission, N-HYPPADEC, and the National Inland Waterways Agency, NIWA, among others, had distributed life jackets across various riverine communities.