Divers have recovered six bodies of the nine people involved in a boat accident at the Zabarmari area of Jere Local Government Area, Borno State.
The tragedy occurred Friday evening when a boat capsized during a journey from Zabarmari to Dusuman settlement.
Bulama Maidana, the ward head of Zabarmari, said that two females and four males died while three of the passengers were rescued.
Maidamma said, “the two females boarded the boat from Budum area, some of them were heading to Dusuman for the Jummat prayers, while others went to attend the funeral of a relative.”
He attributed the incident to the heavy winds, with sandstorm, which lasted for about 30 minutes on Friday.
“The boat capsized at the deeper point of the river. Most of them drowned because they could not swim and were not putting on life jackets.
“Consequently, we mobilised divers to go in search of them. They were able to rescue three passengers, including the driver, on Friday.
“However, the search for the six others took us until Saturday evening to recover their bodies,” he said.
Malam Muhammed Labo, a resident of Dusuman, said that his brother, a cell phone technician, was among the victims.
Labo said his brother went to attend a funeral of a relative at Dusuman.
Reacting, Mr Bashir Garga, the National Emergency Management Agency, North East zone, said that most of the passengers were returning from Jummat prayers when the incident happened on Friday.
Malam Bello Danbatta, the head of emergency response of the State Emergency Management Agency, said the incident was reported late to the management.
Danbatta said the agency had mobilised its personnel to the scene to ascertain the cause of the incident.
