Tragic: 43 escaping villagers die as boat capsizes in River Benue

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An attempt to escape from danger proved fatal for residents of Dampar village in the Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba as about 43 of them are said to have died after a boat carrying them capsized.
The villagers were said to have been escaping from gunmen who had opened fire on them and burnt
their houses after invading their village.
This was what led them to get into the boat which is said to have capsized at the area of the River Benue which links Taraba and Adamawa.
Leadership reports:

The incident which occurred at about 9 pm on Tuesday night was reported to have been caused by an attack by unknown gunmen numbering over 70, who invaded the village from the neighboring Plateau State.
In a chat with LEADERSHIP, an eye witness narrated that the sudden attack on the village by the gunmen prompted villagers to run for their safety. It was gathered that some of the villagers rushed to the river side to board a boat with the aim of crossing to safety in the village nearby.
LEADERSHIP learnt that the boat capsized in the middle of the journey which resulted to the death of all the occupants.
Contacted on the incident, the police public relation spokesman in the State, ASP. Joseph Kwaji , confirmed the attack, but said that the police was yet to confirm the casualties.
At the time of filing this report, corpses of victims have been deposited at nearby health centers in the local government.