A boat accident in northern Nigeria has left dozens feared dead, following the capsizing of a wooden boat carrying mostly women and children.
The passengers were returning from a religious festival when the vessel sank in the River Niger on Tuesday, according to local officials and residents.
Abdullahi Baba Arah, head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the incident, stating that nearly 300 people were aboard the overloaded boat.
Rescue workers and volunteers from Mokwa, a rural area in Niger State, have managed to save 150 people so far, with search and rescue operations ongoing to find more survivors.
“The search and rescue operation is still ongoing to locate more survivors,” Arah said in a statement.
However, Ismaila Umar, leader of the boat skippers association in Mokwa, expressed concerns, told newsmen that the chances of finding more survivors are slim.
This marks the second major boat disaster in Niger State in the last 18 months, following a similar accident that claimed over 100 lives.
Overcrowding and poor maintenance of vessels are frequently cited as causes of boat accidents on Nigeria’s waterways.