Fate of 70 mourners uncertain as boat capsizes in Benue

By Peter Duru, Makurdi
The fate of more than 70 mourners remained uncertain yesterday after a wooden boat conveying them and over 30 motorcycles across the River Katsina-Ala at the Buruku Local Government Area crossing point in Benue State capsized. The incident occurred at about 11 am as the mourners, said to be mostly from Mbayon in Gboko LGA, were returning from the burial of a relation on the other side of the river. Several passengers were reportedly rescued, while search and rescue operations continued Saturday afternoon for those still unaccounted for. An eyewitness said the boat was heavily overloaded when its engine reportedly developed a fault midway through the journey. “The ...