An overloaded boat with about 100 passengers broke in two, submerged killing 10 people and several others missing, in Niger River, Kebbi state, on Wednesday.
According to a local official, ten bodies were fished out of the river and ten people missing.
The rickety boat was crossing the river when it broke in two as it approached the small village of Samanaji in Koko-Besse district.
Despite the boat’s bad shape, it carried plenty passengers “way beyond its capacity,” said Yahaya Bello Koko, a district official.
“We found 10 passengers with the help of local divers, and we are still looking for 10 more,” he said.
They “are presumed drowned, considering the number of hours they spent in the river,” Koko said.
According to him “more than 80 passengers were rescued.”
Federal or state authorities were not immediately available.
Accidents involving boats are common in Nigeria. They are often linked to overloaded vessels, excessive speed, poor maintenance and disregard for navigation rules.
In October, at least 80 people drowned in two shipwrecks.
