A day-old baby and a man described as his uncle, yesterday morning, got drowned and died as the boat in which they were travelling capsized inside a river near Tungan Samia in Wushishi Council of Niger state.
The boat was hired to ferry a pregnant woman from Tungan Samia to Wushishi as she entered labour. The husband had delegated his younger brother to escort his wife to a hospital in Wushishi.
While on the journey, the woman delivered right inside the boat on the river. At that point, her husband’s brother was said to have ordered the boat to turn back to Tungan Samia to celebrate the arrival of the newborn baby.
The accident, however, occurred when in the process of turning, a motorcycle being conveyed by the boat tilted and while trying to save it from dropping inside the river, the boat capsized, throwing the baby and the uncle inside the river, where they got drowned and died.
Both the mother and the operator of the boat were, however, rescued alive.
Director General of Niger state Emergency Management Agency (NISEMA), Alhaji Ibrahim Inga, told The Guardian in Minna that his agency was aware of the matter, but he was yet to be fully briefed on the incident.
“Up till now, I don’t know the names of the victims of the boat mishap, but government is planning to provide boat users with live jackets, either for free or at subsidised rate.
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