Two children on Friday died and two other persons were injured when a boat caught fire in Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State.
It was gathered that the boat caught fire following a mechanical fault in the engine, which ignited a jerry can of petrol inside the boat.
The medium also learnt that there were 145 passengers on board with the occupants said to be returning from the market.
The overseeing Director-General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Salihu Garba, said, “NSEMA has received a report of another boat mishap that claimed two lives of children and injured two persons in Katcha LGA.
“The incident occurred yesterday 20/10/2023 at about 6 pm when the boat engine caught fire due to mechanical failure and ignited a jerry can of petrol stored inside the boat that had 145 people on board.
“The occupants are from Danbo community in Kogi State, they were on their way back from Katcha Market. So far, one corpse has been recovered while the search is still ongoing for the second.”
