Over 100 dead in Nigeria boat accident

KANO, Nigeria: More than 100 people have drowned in north central Nigeria after a boat carrying families returning from a wedding sank in a river, police and local authorities said on Tuesday.

Details about the accident in Kwara State were still emerging, but it was the latest boat tragedy in Nigeria where river capsizes are common due to overloading, lax safety procedures and heavy flooding in the rainy season.

The riverboat was ferrying people in Kwara State from a wedding in neighbouring Niger State when it went down, local state police and the governor´s office said, without giving details of the cause. “So far we have 103 people dead and over 100 rescued from the boat accident,” Kwara State police spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi told AFP by telephone. “Search and rescue is still ongoing which means the toll is likely to rise.”

Kwara State governor´s office did not give a toll but said the victims had been returning from a wedding ceremony to Kwara´s Patigi district. “The Governor is sad to receive reports of the boat accident involving several people, particularly residents of Ebu, Dzakan, Kpada, Kuchalu, and Sampi, all in Patigi,” the statement said. “The Governor sends his heartfelt condolences to the people of these communities.”