SOKOTO (Nigeria), Aug 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 40 people were missing in a boat accident in Nigeria after a boat conveying 50 persons to a popular market in northwest Sokoto State capsized on Sunday, the country’s emergency agency said.
The passengers were travelling to Goronyo market, a popular food produce market in the state, when the boat capsized. Ten people have been rescued, Zubaidar Umar, the head of the National Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement on social media platform X.
The agency said it is collaborating with local authorities and emergency responders in a search and rescue operation to locate the missing persons.
NEMA’s director general, Zubaida Umar, said the agency responded after “receiving reports that a boat conveying over 50 passengers to Goronyo Market had capsized”.
NEMA said in a statement shared on social media that about 10 people had been rescued, and more than 40 other passengers were missing.
Nigeria’s The Punch newspaper, citing a local official, said the accident may have been caused by overloading, a recurring issue for boats in the state’s riverine communities.
Boat accidents are common in Nigeria, particularly during the annual rainy season, from March to October, when rivers and lakes overflow.
At least 16 farmers died in a similar accident in Sokoto State in August 2024, when a wooden canoe carrying them across a river to their rice fields capsized.
Last month, at least 13 people died and dozens more went missing after a boat ferrying about 100 passengers capsized in Niger State, in north-central Nigeria.
Two days later, six girls drowned after a boat taking them home from farm work capsized midstream in the northwestern Jigawa State. — NNN-AGENCIES
