Two dead as boat capsizes in Taraba
A speedboat conveying passengers across River Benue in Taraba, along Karim Lamido Lau Local Government area border has capsized leaving at least two persons dead.
Ten persons, however, were rescued.
An eyewitness, Mr. Joseph Lesku told Punch that the speedboat was crossing the Karim-Lau trench of the River Benue with twelve people on board when it capsized.
He said that some local divers were able to rescue 10 persons.
“The boat was coming from the Karim Lamido side of the river, heading towards Lau when the incident happened.
“Local divers were able to rescue ten persons out of the twelve including the rider, but unfortunately, two persons are still missing and we are now searching for their bodies.
“Usually, at this time of the year, the river is very high and strong so you can not expect them to still be alive, so, we are making efforts to at least recover their bodies,” he said.
The Taraba State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP David Misal, who confirmed the accident, said 10 out of the twelve persons in the boat were rescued alive while the search for the two was still ongoing.
The PPRO revealed that the chances of recovering the two other persons were very minimal considering the water level of the river this time.
