Ilorin — THIRTY people including school pupils were feared dead yesterday when two passenger canoes in which they were travelling capsized in the Nano River at Bukuro village in Kwara State. Eighty passengers were said to be on board the two canoes.

The capsized canoes were conveying the victims from neighboring Yarawodo village in Benin Republic to Bukuro, where they were going for business and studies.

A witness to the accident who spoke to Daily Trust from Baruten said the people of Baruten in Kwara State share a lot in common with the people of Yaworodo in Benin Republic, with many children and adults travelling between the two communities on a daily basis for schooling as well as business activities.

The tragedy was said to have occurred when the canoes conveying the victims back to Baruten after the day's business in Yarawodo capsized mid-way into the trip.

Speaking on the incident, the Emir of Guanara Alhaji Sabi Idris described it as the worst in the history of Guanara district. He sympathized with families of those who died and appealed to the Federal Government to pay more attention to the development of border towns, especially those in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The emir said his district had been described as the most neglected border town in the country, a situation which he said calls for urgent attention.

He said yesterday's canoe disaster could have been averted if the school in Bukuro was adequately equipped. He urged the government to provide the community with good roads and electricity to boost economic activities in the area and discourage the people from crossing over to Benin Republic's border towns for business.

Also, the village head of Bukuro Mallam Isa Aliyu lamented that his village with a population of about 20,000 could only boast of three teachers in its only primary school. He said the accident was due to the determination of parents to get their children and wards educated, thereby necessitating the enrolment of pupils in Benin Republic schools.

The Education Secretary of Baruten Local Government Area Mallam Umaru Zango however said about 55 school pupils were on board the ill-fated canoes. Zango called on the Kwara State government to provide more teachers for Bukuro primary schools to reduce the number of pupils attending primary schools in Benin Republic.

At the time of this report, only 35 survivors were said to have been recovered, along with 30 corpses. The remaining canoe passengers were yet to be found.