No fewer than seven people died on Wednesday in Darei village of Jahun Local Government Area of Jigawa when two canoes capsized.
An eye witness in the village, Malam Idris Shuaibu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that seven bodies had been recovered by some fishermen and local farmers in the area.
Shuaibu said that a canoe from Darei heading to Girma first capsized and another one that was trying to drop some passengers at the other side of the river bank turned back to rescue the drown canoe.
He added that in the process, the girls in a canoe that wanted to rescue the others, who were mostly teenagers, jumped into the water due to fear and got drowned too.
The witness said although no one could ascertain the number of passengers in the two canoes, a parent in the village had been crying that he had not seen his two daughters who boarded one of the canoes.
The Police Public Relation Officer in the state, Mr Abdul Jinjiri, had confirmed the incident.
Jinjiri, however, said that the unfortunate incident only involved a canoe that carried 12 passengers and that six had died.
He added that their corpses had been recovered with the help of some fishermen and locals in the area. (NAN)
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