Nigerian rescue services are trying to find more than 40 people who are missing after a boat capsized in a river in northwestern Nigeria, the National Emergency Management Agency reported, quoted by Agence France-Presse and BTA.
The rescue service said in a statement that the boat, which was carrying more than 50 passengers to a market, capsized yesterday morning.
“A dozen people have been rescued, while more than 40 passengers are still missing“, the agency said, indicating that the incident occurred in Sokoto state.
Boat accidents are common in Nigeria due to overloading and poor maintenance, especially during the rainy season, when rivers and lakes overflow.
At least 16 agricultural workers died in a similar incident last August in the same Sokoto state, when a wooden pirogue carrying them across a river to their rice fields overturned, AFP recalls.