There was a boat mishap on the shores of River Benue located in Ibi Local Government Area (LGA) of Taraba State.
Chairman of Ibi LGA, Bala Bako, who confirmed this to Channels Television on Tuesday, September 13, said a woman and two children got missing after the incident.
Bako said the boat which was fully loaded with passengers was headed to Sarkin Kudu Market, located on the other side of the river.
He said;
“While taking off from the coast, the boat’s engine started malfunctioning and suddenly went off.
“In the course of restarting the engine, the boat drifted down and hit a building at the riverbank, causing it to break into two parts.
“Several passengers jumped out; some had to swim to safety while others were rescued.
"Unfortunately, and sad enough, a woman and two children were not seen, they got drowned. Efforts are on already to rescue them if possible.”
In a bid to prevent a reoccurrence of the incident, Bako said the council would provide life jackets to safeguard the lives of passengers, as well as passenger manifest for proper documentation.