Rescue workers are searching for more than 40 people after a boat accident in Nigeria´s northwestern Sokoto State, the country´s emergency agency said on Sunday.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement that the boat, which was carrying more than 50 passengers to a market, capsized on Sunday morning.
“About 10 persons have been rescued, while more than 40 passengers remain missing,” NEMA added.
Boat accidents are common on Nigeria´s poorly regulated waterways due to overcrowding and poor maintenance, particularly during the annual rainy season when rivers and lakes overflow.
At least 16 farmers died in a similar accident in August 2024 when a wooden canoe carrying them across a river to their rice fields capsized in Sokoto state.
On July 29, six girls drowned after a boat taking them home from farm work capsized midstream in northwestern Jigawa State.
Two days earlier, at least 13 people had died in another boat accident in central Niger State.
