Over seventy mourners and thirty motorcycles were on board when a wooden boat capsized in the Katsina-Ala River in the Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State, leaving many persons presumed missing.
There was an incident at the Buruku river crossing on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at about 11 a.m.
The boat went down when its occupants, who were reportedly mostly from Mbayon in Gboko Local Government Area, were on their way back after a relative’s burial across the river.
Rescue workers apparently pulled a number of people from the river, and as of Saturday afternoon, they were still trying to find anyone else who might have been lost.
According to an eyewitness, the wooden boat was carrying an excessive number of people and motorbikes when its engine allegedly broke down halfway through the trip.
At approximately 11 o’clock in the morning, the boat was carrying more than 30 motorcycles and a large number of passengers, who had reportedly come from the Logo LGA side of the river.
Since the search is still underway, I am unable to provide you with the exact number of those who have not been located or rescued from the river, even though many have been rescued. However, many people are still unseen as we speak.
Raymond Zege, chairman of the Buruku Local Government Area, verified the accident and said that the passengers were Gboko mourners making the journey over the river to attend a funeral.
More than 70 people were on board when the boat’s engine suddenly stopped running midway through the return journey, according to Zege. This caused widespread panic among the passengers.
“The victims were mourners from Gboko who went for a burial on the other side of the river,” he continued.
They got on a boat that had more than 70 people on board. They started to freak out when the boat’s motor died midway through the trip.
“And they also encountered a powerful wave, causing the boat to capsize prior to the arrival of the rescue vessel.”
Despite reports of the rescue of over 60 passengers, the exact number of missing persons is still unknown, according to the council chairman.
The exact number of people that have gone missing is unknown to us at this moment. We have rescued more over sixty people, but we have only seen around six so far. Rescue efforts are still in progress, he added.
Zege stressed the importance of passengers following all maritime safety protocols, including donning life jackets when traversing the channel.
He admitted that the route’s users had been provided with life jackets by the local government, but that it had been difficult to enforce their use at times due to commuters’ refusal to wear them.
Some people are just plain annoying. We have made sure that every commuter who uses that route is equipped with a life jacket, as it is required by law. Some passengers, when the maritime workers show there and attempt to enforce the rules, make excuses about their health or refuse to share life jackets.
We have supplied the life vests, and we are fully behind initiatives to make sure that marine safety rules are followed,” he declared.
Commuters are advised by the chairman to comply with marine officials, who perform enforcement operations routinely.
Even at nite, the marine officials will arrive for enforcement. The safety procedures are in place to safeguard lives, therefore people should cooperate with them, he said.
In a statement released on Saturday, Denis Iyaghigba, the commissioner for marine and blue economy in the state of Benue, also verified the occurrence.
While rescue workers attempted to determine the number of casualties, Iyaghigba urged the public and the relatives of the passengers to maintain composure, saying that his ministry had received preliminary information regarding the accident.
The terrible news of a boat accident at the Buruku crossing site was reported to Iyaghigba this morning, Saturday, October 3, 2026.
Please, I beg you, keep your cool and wait for confirmed information from the proper authorities. This goes out to the families of anyone who may have been on board the boat. We shall spare no effort to guarantee their safety.
The commissioner announced that he had ordered the union representing boat operators downstream to participate in the current rescue effort.
“The boat operators and their union downstream have been directed by me to mobilise and assist in the ongoing search and rescue operation,” he stated.
“Additional information will be shared as the rescue operation advances,” he said.
Rescue activities were ongoing when this article was filed, and authorities have not yet confirmed the number of individuals still missing or provided a final count of everyone on board the boat.