Reuters Reuters
29 May, 2021, 2:03 am
People are seen gathered around a truck as a boy, one of the victim of a boat accident, is being carried to a truck in Kebbi, Nigeria May 27, 2021 Nema/Handout via REUTERS
KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) – A boat ferrying about 200 people capsized in the northwestern Nigerian state of Kebbi on Wednesday but the number of casualties remains unclear, a state spokesman said.
The wooden boat capsized near Wara, a town on the shores of Kainji Lake, part of the Niger River, said Yahaya Sarki, a spokesman the governor of Kebbi.
It had about 200 passengers on board, coming from the neighbouring Nigerian state of Niger.
A riverboat with more than 165 passengers, including women and children, breaks up and sinks on the Niger River in Nigeria, leaving more than 100 people missing and feared dead.
At least four victims have been confirmed dead, but rescuers fear more than 150 people could have drowned. A local official said the boat was carrying at least twice as many people as permitted.
Dozens of people are missing feared dead in Nigeria after a boat carrying about 200 broke in two and sank, officials say.
Most passengers were women and children travelling from neighhouring Niger to the north-western state of Kebbi.
One survivor said about 40 people had been rescued, but it is unlikely that many more survivors will be found.
Local authorities told the BBC that divers and emergency workers were trying to save others.
Five bodies have reportedly been recovered. Bodies are still being recovered. We can t ascertain the number for now, Yahaya Sarki, a spokesman for the governor of Kebbi, told the Reuters news agency.