Eight persons were said to have died in a boat accident that occurred in Guasau, Zamfara State capital on Sunday.
An eyewitness, Abba Shehu, told on Monday that the victims included a woman and seven children.
Shehu said the victims were on a mission to fetch water in a river close to Gusau when the canoe they were in capsized.
He said the corpses of the deceased had been evacuated while rescuers were still searching for more bodies.
“We have rescued four persons alive and evacuated eight dead bodies.
“We are still searching for more dead bodies because there were over 20 people in the canoe,” Shehu added.
He appealed to the state government to provide water to the state capital, lamenting that, “There has been no water supply to Gusau town in the last one week.”
In a telephone interview with on Monday, the state Commissioner for Water Resources, Ibrahim Isa, said normal water supply had been restored to the town.
He also faulted Shehu’s claim, saying that it is not true that the victims were on their way to fetch water when the accident occurred.
“Those who died in the river as a result of the boat accident did not go there to fetch water.
“They were going somewhere on another mission when the incident happened,” he said.
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