At least 60 people have died and dozens more have been rescued after a boat carrying more than 100 passengers capsized in Nigeria’s north-central Niger State, according to local officials.
The vessel departed from the town of Tungan Sule in Malale district at about 11am local time (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday morning, and was heading towards the town of Dugga on Nigeria’s Kainji reservoir.
The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) said on Wednesday that the incident occurred when a vessel struck a submerged tree stump near the Gausawa community in Borgu Local Government Area.
“The cause was attributed to overloading and collision with a tree stump,” the agency told local newspaper, Daily Trust.
NSEMA said women and children were on board the vessel, which it said was heading to Dugga for a “condolence visit”.
Abdullahi Baba Ara, NSEMA’s director general and chair of Borgu Local Government Area, said the number of casualties was still rising while rescue operations were continuing “for possible recovery of missing persons”.
“The death toll of the boat incident has risen to 60,” he told the Reuters news agency.
“Ten people have been found in serious condition, and many are still being sought,” he added.
Sa’adu Inuwa Muhammad, the district head of Shagumi, who was at the scene shortly after the accident occurred, said the boat was carrying “more than 100 people”.
“We were able to recover 31 corpses from the river. The boat was also recovered and removed,” he told Reuters.
Women and children made up the majority of the deceased, Muhammad said. He added that four victims have already been buried in accordance with Islamic rites.
Boat accidents are frequent in Nigeria’s riverine communities – especially during the rainy season from March to October, when rivers and lakes overflow – due to lax safety enforcement, overcrowding and poorly maintained vessels.
In August, more than 40 people were declared missing after a boat capsized in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Sokoto, also due to overloading.
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