Tears As 26 Traders Perish In Boat Mishap In Borno

***Eight bodies Recovered, Eighteen Still Missing.
By: Ali Musa Biu-Maiduguri
26 people, mostly traders, are feared to have been killed in a boat accident on the River Hawul, along the Gwaskara/Shani axis of the river, in Shani Local Government Area of Borno State, last Saturday.
Eye witness reports have it that, the traders were travelling in an overloaded hand paddled canoe to a local market in Gwaskara, when the accident occured.
The Hawul river, which has been reported to be overflowing it’s banks is responsible for a similar accident on the Riba end in Hawul area, killing at least three other travellers.
According to eye witnesses, the boat picked passengers from communities along the river, with a plan to deliver them to Gwaskara market, but run into troubled waters before it could reach its destination.
The victims were either from Ladjada, Kidamamza, Angwabello, Yimirmwapu, Bodeno, or Zaunagari; all located along the banks of the river Hawul, in Shani Local Government Area.
Locals told our correspondent that, the boat was overloaded with goods and passengers, and the two paddlers handling it had to sit at the tips of both the rear and the frontal part, making it difficult to steer it out of dangers, when the water surged.
The two paddlers reportedly lost control following a sudden water surge, coupled with the seemingly too heavy load the canoe was carrying: causing it to capsize.
As a time of visit to the scene eight bodies had been recovered from the river, as search and rescue operations continued by local divers and other paddlers.
Reports indicate that there are growing fears that the remaining eighteen passengers may have been washed downstream by the ferecious river.
Already signals have been despatched to Benue state, where the river Hawul empties it’s water, to look out for possible victims of the accident, even as the local Sarkin Ruwa is expected to perform some rituals in aid of the search and rescue efforts.
The Emir of Shani, Nasiru Muhammad Mailafiya; in whose domain the accident occured has since visited the scene, to supervise the operations and to sympathize with families of the victims.