By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

No fewer than 40 persons were said to have lost their lives on Saturday in a boat mishap in Gummi town, the headquarters of Gummi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The Director of Emergency at the Zamfara State Emergency Management Agency (ZEMA), Hassan Dauran, told newsmen that the boat was carrying about 50 passengers when the tragic accident occurred.

He said that only few of them were rescued alive at that moment, while the majority of the passengers, mostly women and children could not make it alive.

An eye witness account said the deceased persons were going to their farms in the early hours of Saturday when the boat capsized and sank into the river.

The eyewitness said there were 53 farmers including children in the boat and only 12 were rescued alive including the captain of the boat and the remaining 41 were dead.

The Emir of Gummi, Justice Hassan Lawal (retired), has commiserated with the families of those who have lost their lives in the incident.

He described the incident as very tragic and prayed Allah to forgive all those who have lost their lives and give their families the fortitude to bear the loss.

The latest incident adds to the ugly trend of boat accidents which has claimed so many lives across Nigeria in recent times.

Just two days ago, two persons reportedly drowned in a boat mishap in the Ipoki Local Government Area of Ogun State.

Similarly, on August 8, five persons died in a canoe accident in Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

The incident happened when the canoe carrying twenty passengers capsized while crossing the Gamoda River near Nahuce village.

Also on July 8, one person reportedly died while 18 persons were rescued in tragic boat accident that occurred on the Kwalgai River in Auyo Local Government Area of Jigawa State

Not to be forgotten is the boat mishap that claimed the life of Nollywood star, Junior Pope Odonwodo in April on his way out of a film location. Other crew member also lost their lives in the accident that threw the Nigerian entertainment industry into mourning.

The Edo State Government has said that emergency responders have rescued all trapped students in the collapsed three-storey building on Ekhator Street, off Ekosodin Road beside the University of Benin, in Benin City.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, the government noted that there are no fatalities and investigation is ongoing to unravel the immediate and remote cause of the incident.

“The government confirms the collapse of a three-storey building in Ekhator Street, off Ekosodin Road, beside the University of Benin, Ugbowo, Benin City,” Osagie said.

“A rescue team was deployed to the site of the incident and all the trapped students have been rescued alive and are receiving medical attention.”

He added that, “Emergency Responders including the Edo State Fire Service and officials from the Edo State Command and Control Centre deployed to the scene of the accident have confirmed that there are no fatalities from the incident as at this time.

“Excavators and other heavy equipment are on site to clear the rubble and also remove the other parts of the distressed building.

“The government has ordered a full investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the collapse as well as an audit of other buildings in the area to ascertain their status.

“The state government has stationed officials at the site to provide updates on the incident.

“We appreciate the gallant work of the emergency responders and the good Samaritans in the community who provided assistance in managing the situation.”

Earlier, Channels Television reported that several students of the University of Benin were trapped in a three-storey building that collapsed in Ekosodin on Saturday morning.

The storey building on Ekhator Street, Benin, the state capital, collapsed during the early morning rainfall in the state.

Ekosodin shares borders with the University of Benin, and hosts a large number of student population.

Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe both struck from the penalty spot to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday.

The Spanish champions moved within a point of leaders Barcelona who face last season’s surprise package Girona on Sunday.

Real Sociedad hit the woodwork on three occasions before Madrid’s second half spot-kicks earned them three points from an end-to-end clash at the Reale Arena.

“It was a tough game, probably we didn’t deserve to win because Real Sociedad played very well… but we bore it out, we suffered, we were committed in the tough moments of the game and I value that a lot,” said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

“This sacrifice and commitment from a team with such quality, you cannot always find — and today we found it.”

The Italian was without injured midfielders Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni, and benched Rodrygo Goes for Brahim Diaz.

After Mbappe netted twice to score his first La Liga goals in his previous outing, all eyes were on the French forward.

The former Paris Saint-Germain striker forced Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro into a smart save and had a surging run forward cut short by some last-ditch defending.

Real Sociedad hit the woodwork for the first of three occasions when new arrival Luka Sucic slammed an effort from distance against the bar.

Ancelotti brought on Rodrygo after Diaz suffered an injury and the champions came close through Antonio Rudiger’s header, clawed out by Remiro, and an Mbappe effort across the face of goal.

At the other end Real Sociedad forward Sheraldo Becker struck the bar when played in.

Sucic fired a low strike against the post early in the second half as the Basque side lacked luck in front of goal and Madrid inevitably capitalised.

Vinicius fired home from the spot in the 58th minute after Sergio Gomez handled Arda Guler’s drive and Mbappe soon followed suit.

The French superstar sent Remiro the wrong way from the spot after Jon Aramburu stood on Vinicius’ foot.

Madrid saw the remaining 15 minutes out without stress ahead of their return to Champions League action on Tuesday against Stuttgart.

Mbappe now has three goals in five La Liga matches for Madrid, although two have come from the penalty spot.

“They are linking well, creating a lot of danger,” said goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

“In open play they’re lacking goals a bit, but with them we have a lot of danger up front and we will score a lot of goals.

“Today it was from the penalty spot, but they count too.”

Los Blancos last tasted defeat in La Liga in September 2023, going 37 league matches unbeaten since.

Real Sociedad have just one win from five games this season but Imanol Alguacil’s team played well.

“We had a great first half, we had a lot of chances, the game was alive,” said Real Sociedad’s Igor Zubeldia.

“In the second half we started well but the penalty was a tough blow… we were comfortable, it changed the whole game for us.”

Earlier Sevilla earned their first victory of the season with a tight 1-0 triumph over Getafe and Villarreal moved provisionally third with a 2-1 win at Mallorca.

AFP