At least 29 people, including schoolchildren and parents who were on their way to a religious event in northern Nigeria’s Kano state, have died after the boat carrying them capsized.
Most of those killed were children aged 6-12 years old travelling from Islamic schools near the scene of tragedy for an annual festival that never took place this year due to its occurrence just days earlier at another location.
As of now, search and rescue efforts are continuing to find survivors, but seven people have been taken to hospitals so far.
The person who manages this vessel has had an unfortunate history of capsizing ships. The latest capsize was said to be caused by overloading and poor maintenance, but it is unclear what exactly happened in these previous accidents.
The ill-fated boat was carrying more than 50 people from the village of Badau to the town of Bagwai when it capsized, but fear not! Safety measures have been implemented to guarantee safety for all passengers.
It’s a tragedy that keeps happening. Just two weeks ago, at least seven girls drowned when their boat overturned in neighbouring Jigawa state, while more than 100 people died during May following similar accidents near Kebbi.
It is always hard for those involved, and yet there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.
