At least 60 people died when a boat carrying mostly women and children returning from a religious festival in northern Niger state capsized this week, a local official said.
About 160 people were rescued after a wooden boat carrying about 300 passengers sank Tuesday night on the Niger River near Gbajibo community, Jibril Abdullahi Muregi, chairman of Mokwa local government, said
The boat was returning to Gbajibo from Mundi after the annual Maulud festival when the mishap occurred, Muregi said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Rescue operations are still ongoing, he said. It is still unclear why the boat sank. Overcrowding and poor maintenance are responsible for most boat accidents on Nigeria’s waterways.
