Four residents of Kauranmata village in Madobi Local Government Area of Kano State tragically lost their lives when a canoe they were traveling in capsized.
The accident occurred on Tuesday evening as the victims and 12 others were returning from Karfi town in Kura LGA, where they worked as local rice processors.
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According to reports, five people, including the canoe driver and a nursing mother, were rescued, but the child of the nursing mother remains missing. Search and rescue efforts were ongoing for the six other passengers as of the time of this report.
Madobi Local Government Information Officer, Jamilu Mustapha Yakasai, confirmed that the bodies of the deceased, identified as Maryam Jibrin, Yusuf Galinja, Kabiru Muhammad, and Safiyanu Musa, were recovered and buried on Wednesday according to Islamic rites.
Alhaji Muhammad Sani Gora, the interim chairman of Madobi Local Council, visited the Kauranmata community to console the grieving families. He assured them that the council would “do everything in its power to support the affected families and provide all necessary assistance during this difficult time.”
A local resident, Salisu Adamu Baure, noted that this was the first time such a fatal accident had occurred in the river, attributing the tragedy to overloading. He explained that the canoe was carrying two bags of rice and a motorcycle in addition to the passengers.
The ward head of Kauranmata, Ibrahim Lawan, called on the Kano State government and elected officials to provide modern speed boats equipped with life jackets to prevent future incidents.
Saminu Abdullahi, the spokesman for the Kano State Fire Service, also confirmed the incident, adding that the state fire service was alerted by the councillor representing Kauranmata Ward, Aminu Garba, when the tragedy occurred.
