2 survivors and 21 missing in a shipwreck in Nigeria

On Sunday, 5th July, a boat sank on the River Benue in the central part of Nigeria. Twenty-one people are currently missing after this tragedy confirmed by the Benue state police.

The tragedy that took place this Sunday in Nigeria may have caused about twenty deaths. According to Catherine Anene, spokeswoman for the Benue police, the boat was heading towards Makurdi, the capital of Benue State, when the tragedy occurred.

The boat had 23 passengers on board, of which the maritime police rescued only two. The rapid deployment of a rescue mission was beneficial for the two survivors. The investigation concluded that the majority of the passengers were members of a local church attending a conference.

Several shipwrecks which raise questions

The Nigerian authorities are working to ensure that the causes of this accident are quickly identified. Indeed, this shipwreck comes a few days after another that occurred near Lagos. It was a ferry sailing to Lagos with more than 20 people on board this time as well. The death toll was 6 and 14 survivors. One of the passengers is still missing.

Shipwreck in Africa

Shipwrecks are unfortunately common in Africa. A month earlier in Mozambique, 13 people had lost their lives in similar circumstances in the north of the country.

A few days later, off the Tunisian coast, 52 migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, drowned.

In August 2019, one hundred people were missing after being shipwrecked in Cameroon, and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, several tragedies occur each year.

This non-exhaustive list of shipwrecks raises questions about the conditions in which these boat trips take place and the lack of respect for safety standards.