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Rescue workers in northern Nigeria are searching for more than 40 missing passengers after a boat accident in Sokoto state, the authorities have said.<\/p>\n
The National Emergency Management Agency (Nema) said the boat was carrying more than 50 people to a local market when it capsized in the River Goronyo on Sunday.<\/p>\n
A Sokoto official told the BBC that four people have been found alive. Nema said it was “intensifying efforts alongside local authorities to locate [those] still missing”.<\/p>\n
Boat accidents occur regularly in Nigeria due to overcrowding, poorly maintained boats and the failure to enforce safety regulations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In December 2024, 54 bodies were recovered from the River Niger<\/a> after a boat that may have been carrying more than 200 passengers capsized.<\/p>\n It was the third incident of a passenger boat going down in a 60-day period.<\/p>\n A month earlier in November 2024, a wooden dugout canoe, packed with nearly 300 passengers, overturned and sank in the middle of the Niger killing nearly 200 people.<\/p>\n In another accident that gained a lot of attention, more than 100 people drowned two years ago<\/a> in the south-western part of the country.<\/p>\n The vessel they were in was carrying around 300 passengers travelling from Kwara state to Niger state after a wedding celebration.<\/p>\n According to the regulations all passengers are supposed to wear life jackets, but they are not always available, especially in rural areas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n