Nigeria boat capsize kills 46, many of them children

At least 46 people, many of them children, have died after an overcrowded boat capsized in northwestern Nigeria, with 15 people still missing.

The accident took place on Thursday (August 20) near Goronyo in Sokoto State as the boat was carrying farmers and rice-harvesting workers across a river.

The vessel reportedly lost control and overturned, local authorities said.

Police said more than 70 people were believed to have been aboard, although some reports put the number at as many as 77. Sixteen people have been rescued alive, while search teams continue to look for those still missing.

Sokoto police spokesperson Ahmad Rufai said 46 bodies had so far been recovered near Goronyo. Security personnel, local divers and emergency workers are taking part in the search operation, which has been hampered by the remote location of the accident.

Residents said many of the recovered bodies were wrapped in mats and traditional cloth and placed outside a local mosque before burial preparations began.

A Reuters reporter also saw numerous bodies at the mosque compound.

The inland waterways authorities said the search would continue until all possible survivors and victims had been accounted for.

Boat accidents are frequent in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas where rivers remain an important means of transport because of limited road and bridge infrastructure. Overcrowding, poor vessel maintenance and weak enforcement of safety regulations are among the factors blamed for repeated disasters.

At least 25 people were killed in a separate boat accident in Nigeria’s Yobe State in January, highlighting continuing concerns over safety on the country’s inland waterways.