At least 40 people are missing, and presumed dead, after a passenger boat capsized in northwestern Nigeria.
Officials say the boat carrying 50 passengers capsized in Yauri District, Kebbi State on Monday, October 2 afternoon.
“We are still searching for 40 passengers with the help of local divers and believe they have drowned,” said Bala Mohammed, the administrator of Yauri district.
“It is a difficult search due to the high water level and strong currents as a result of the rainy season.”
Media outlets in Nigeria report that the boat was coing fro Kasabo in Agura District in Niger state to Yauri, before capsizing in the Niger River.
Cases of boat accidents on Nigeria’s poorly regulated waterways due to overloaded boats, lack of maintenance and poor safety are on the rise.
Last month, at least 24 bodies were recovered and 50 went missing when a boat ferrying more than 100 farmers across the Niger River in Niger state capsized.
Two days earlier 10 people had drowned while three went missing when a boat ferrying traders overturned in a lake in northeastern Adamawa state, according to emergency officials.
