A ship carrying more than 200 passengers sank early Friday morning. At least eight deaths have already been confirmed.
At least 100 people, most of them women, are missing after a boat carrying passengers to a food market capsized on the Niger River in northern Nigeria on Friday morning.
According to Ibrahim Audu, spokesperson for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, the vessel was traveling from Kogi State to neighboring Niger State when it sank.
Local divers have so far recovered eight bodies, and search and rescue efforts continue.
Local media reported that the boat was carrying more than 200 passengers, raising concerns that overcrowding may have contributed to the tragedy. Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the incident.
Overloaded boats are a common problem in Nigeria, particularly in remote areas where poor road infrastructure leaves rivers as the main transportation route.
Lack of maintenance on locally built vessels and insufficient enforcement of safety measures, such as the use of life jackets, have made these accidents increasingly common.
Justin Uwazuruonye, head of operations at Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency in Kogi, said officials were working to determine the exact location of the incident and had called for help from other agencies .
Fatal boat accidents remain a major concern in Africa’s most populous country, as authorities struggle to implement and enforce safety rules for river transport.
