The rescuers are looking for more than 40 people after a boat accident in the state of North West of Nigeria, the country’s state of emergency, the emergency agency announced on Sunday.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement that the boat, which carried more than 50 passengers on a market, capsized Sunday morning.
“About 10 people have been saved, while more than 40 passengers remain missing,” added Nema.
Boats accidents are common on the poorly regulated Nigeria waterways due to overcrowding and poor maintenance, especially 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 transporting them through a river to their capshed rice fields in the state of Sokoto.
On July 29, six girls drowned after a boat brought them back to the Chavire farm in the middle of the northwest Jigawa state.
Two days earlier, at least 13 people died in another boat accident in the center of Niger.
