By RFIPalled on 14-02-2019Modified on 14-02-2019 at 03:00

A terrible accident occurred Wednesday afternoon on the Niger River, between Benin and Niger in the locality of Sambera, Nigerian side. A pirogue capsized. According to Benin authorities, 64 passengers were rescued and some 40 were still missing last night. This morning, the circumstances of this shipwreck are still unclear.

Yesterday, as every Wednesday, the inhabitants of the village of Goroubéri, Benin, go to Ouna, Niger for the market. Like every week, they cross the Niger River by canoe, without this time reaching the opposite shore.

" When we audited the driver, he says it's the wind. Just 200 meters from the market, there is a violent wind that has arrived. He knocked over the boat and the driver could not control. There were goods and more than 100 people in the boat. So there is also the question of overload, "says Igouma Douhramane, first deputy mayor of Karimama, neighboring town of Goroubéri.

No body has been able to be recovered yet, about forty people still miss the call when the helpers stopped their search, at the end of the night. These are mainly Beninese nationals. The boat did not have a transport manifest and it is on the basis of testimonies from survivors that the police attempt to draw up a reliable list of the missing. A total of 64 passengers were rescued by fishermen and rescuers. In the early evening, the naval forces brought them back to their village in Gorou Béri.

On both sides of the river, an investigation was initiated to determine the exact causes of the accident. The surviving driver and the owner should be heard and presented to the prosecutor.

The drama, despite existing measures

In question therefore, the overload that continue to practice some boatmen despite safety standards imposed by Benin and Niger.

" A few years ago, we experienced the same situation. Since then, we have made security arrangements to prohibit oversized transportation. This boat , we did not understand how its elements were able to escape controls. Today, with the counterparts on the Niger side, we will meet again to better refine this device ", promises Mohamoudou Moussa, prefect of the Beninese department of Alibori.

The prefect must go in the morning to the bereaved village to offer condolences and raise awareness. It will emerge this order taken a few months ago on the occasion of a similar tragedy. The measure prohibits navigation from 19h, overloading and boarding freight goods in the same boat.

The research must resume this morning with the arrival of the divers of the navy.

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