Residents of Agatu Local Government Area in Benue State have been plunged into deep mourning following the death of five siblings, whose lifeless bodies were recovered after the boat carrying them capsized in a river.
As learnt, the children were on board the boat with their father and other passengers, travelling to a nearby village, when it lost balance and overturned in the river.
While their father was rescued alive by local divers and community members minutes after the incident occurred in Obagaji, all five children drowned before rescuers could reach them.
“The father survived, but his pain is unimaginable,” said a resident who joined in the rescue operation. “We pulled the children out one after the other, but none of them made it.”
The Obagaji community has since been thrown into mourning, with sympathisers visiting the bereaved man’s home to console him and describe the incident as one of the worst tragedies to hit the area in recent times.
Local leaders have called on authorities to take urgent action to improve water transport safety and prevent boat overloading, especially during the rainy season.
“This painful event should be a wake-up call,” another community member said. “We can’t keep losing lives to preventable accidents.”
As of the time of filing this report, the state emergency services have yet to release an official statement, but local divers continue to patrol the river to ensure no other victims remain unaccounted for.
