Rescue teams, fishermen, navy and police yesterday launched search for 43 people, most from Benin after an overloaded boat bringing them to a market capsized in the Niger River.
The vessel foundered as it was battered by powerful winds in Sambera district, southwestern Niger early Wednesday morning, sinking just 200 metres (yards) from its destination, authorities said..
“Sixty-two people were saved and 43 others are missing, judging from the number of shoes that have been recovered,” Sambera Mayor Oumarou Hassane told AFP. They were aboard a canoe travelling from Gori-Beri in Benin to Ouna in Niger, he said.
The vessel was transporting a large consignment of cereals and about a hundred traders from Benin and Niger heading to the market in Ouna, Hassane said. In Benin, Moussa Mouhamadou, prefect of the northern district of Alibori, gave a similar toll.
“Sixty-four people were saved,” he told Radio Benin. “We discovered about 40 pairs of shoes at the site (of the accident), and linked them to the people who are missing.” “The survivors went home last night and are well.
They are being given medical and psychological support,” said Mouhamadou.
The Niger River, a popular transport artery in West Africa, broke its banks about two weeks ago, causing major damage to crops. While the flooding has subsided, the river’s level remains high.
An official of Niger’s gendarmerie told public radio the canoe sank “about 200 metres (yards)” from the jetty.
According to Mouhamadou, navy and police members and fishermen on the scene started evacuating survivors directly after the sinking, and divers from the fire brigade in the capital, Cotonou, were expected to join the search Thursday.
Boat capsizes are common on the Niger. Many are operated by companies that ignore security standards. Steering is “often given to teenagers to do,” a Nigerian security source told AFP.