The Kogi State Commissioner for Agriculture, Timothy Ojomah, on Wednesday confirmed that 15 additional corpses had been recovered from last Tuesday’s boat accident in the Ibaji Local Government Area, bringing the official toll to 35.
Ojomah, in a text message to our correspondent, said almost 20 more passengers were still unaccounted for. “As of this morning, 15 corpses were recovered, whilst almost 20 persons/corpses are yet to be accounted for. Between 80 and 82 persons were in the boat, and 46 were rescued immediately,” he stated.
The ill-fated boat, reportedly overloaded with traders and residents travelling for the October 1 celebrations, departed from Onugwa community in Ibaji en route to Ilushi market before capsizing on the River Niger.
“The boat was fully loaded with our people going to market for the October 1 celebration. Even those who came for a burial in Onugwa and were returning to Ilushi were missing. We have yet to confirm the exact number of survivors and casualties. Only five survivors have surfaced so far, and many of our people are still lying lifeless beneath the river,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Management Agency on Thursday gave a separate update, stating that 24 passengers had been rescued, 14 corpses recovered, and 42 people remained missing.