No fewer than 8 victims of the Rugange canoe mishap in Yola South Local Government Area of Adamawa state have so far been confirmed dead by medical personnel.
SP Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje in a statement issued on Saturday said the rescue operation is yielding a positive result as 8 people have so far been rescued by the combined team of Police Marine and Good Samaritans.
He explained that “amongst those rescued and were confirmed dead by Medical Experts, are 6, Females while 2 are Males.”
He noted that more details will be coming out soon.
Recall that on Friday 8th Aug. 2023 around 2pm a canoe conveying about 23 passengers capsized, following a heavy turbulent windstorm that obstructed the canoe and consquently capsized.
Speaking to journalists, a resident of the area, also a local diver seen inside a canoe on rescue mission, Mahmud, attributed the ugly incident to rough ride, failure of using life jacket among others.
According to him, he lived in the area for over 3 decades, stressing this is the first time he witnessed a boat mishap with the number of lives lost.
He called on the Government to provide lasting solutions to the people of the area.
“If you going to the market or other daily routine affairs, crossing the river with canoe is the last option, the only road we have is in deplorable condition,” Mr Mahmoud stated.
