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Rescue crews are searching for over 40 individuals following a boat crash in Nigeria’s northwest, Sokoto State, according to the country’s emergency services on Sunday.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported that the vessel, which was ferrying more than 50 people to a market, capsized early Sunday morning.
“Approximately 10 people have been saved, but more than 40 remain unaccounted for,” NEMA stated.
Such boat tragedies are frequent on Nigeria’s under-regulated waterways, often caused by overcrowding and inadequate vessel upkeep, especially during the rainy season when rivers and lakes tend to overflow.
In a similar incident last August 2024, at least 16 farmers drowned when a wooden canoe overturning while transporting them across a river to their rice fields in Sokoto State.
Previously, on July 29, six girls drowned when their boat, returning from farm work, capsized midstream in Jigawa State.
Just two days earlier, a boat accident in Niger’s central region claimed at least 13 lives.
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