At least 52 people have died after a boat carrying farmers and labourers to rice farms capsized in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, north-western Nigeria.
The incident occurred on Thursday while the boat was crossing a waterway near Gorau town, according to officials.
The Head of Operations of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Sokoto State, Tukur Abubakar, confirmed on Friday that the death toll had risen to 52.
“The death toll has now risen to 52,” Abubakar told Anadolu, adding that officials were preparing to meet with local government authorities to identify and reach the families of the victims.
The boat was reportedly transporting farmers and workers to rice farms when it overturned. Abdulkadir Yusuf, the Sokoto Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), confirmed the accident and said dozens of bodies had been recovered, including those of children.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Abdullahi Ghani, said emergency officials remained at the scene assessing the situation and working to establish the exact number of people affected.
Local residents said the boat was carrying more than 70 people when it capsized, suggesting that the number of casualties could rise as rescue and recovery operations continue.
The tragedy adds to a growing list of fatal boat accidents on Nigeria’s waterways. Overcrowding, inadequate safety equipment and weak enforcement of inland waterway regulations have repeatedly been identified as major factors contributing to such incidents.
The latest accident has renewed concerns over the safety of communities that rely heavily on waterways for transportation, particularly farmers and rural workers travelling to agricultural settlements during the farming season.
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