Dozens of people are feared dead after a boat capsized on the River Niger in north-central Nigeria, carrying over 300 passengers.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night, according to Abdullahi Baba Arah, the head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (Nsema).
As of Thursday, Nsema officials reported that 26 bodies had been recovered, with search operations still ongoing.
Local council chairman Abdullahi Muregi had earlier stated to Nigerian media that around 60 bodies had been found.
In a statement, Mr. Arah confirmed that 150 people had been rescued alive. The majority of the passengers were women and children en route to celebrate the Muslim festival of Mawlid.
He commended the “brave” efforts of community volunteers and local divers who responded quickly to the emergency.
Ibrahim Husaini, a colleague of Mr. Arah, noted that the exact number of people on board remains unclear due to the lack of a passenger register, making it difficult to determine how many are still missing.
Mr. Muregi informed the BBC that 150 passengers remain unaccounted for.
The boat was traveling from a community called Mundi, with many passengers heading to the village of Gbajibo for the Mawlid celebration, which marks the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
While the cause of the capsizing has not been confirmed, boat accidents on the River Niger are frequent, particularly during the rainy season when water levels rise.
Many of the boats are overcrowded or poorly maintained, and obstacles like debris in the river pose additional hazards.
Just last September, at least 24 people died in a similar incident in the same area, when a boat carrying over 50 passengers overturned while they were on their way to harvest crops.
Source-BBC
