Death toll from Nigeria boat accident rises to 52

At least 52 people died when a boat carrying farmers and workers to rice farms capsized in northwestern Nigeria’s Sokoto State, officials said Friday.

The boat capsized Thursday while crossing a waterway near Gorau town in the Goronyo Local Government Area, according to reports.

The head of operations of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Sokoto State, Tukur Abubakar, confirmed that the death toll had risen to 52 as of Friday morning.

“The death toll has now risen to 52,” Abubakar told Anadolu. “We are about to meet with officials of the local government to know the families of the victims,” he said.

Anadolu earlier said the boat was carrying farmers and laborers heading to rice farms when it overturned. Abdulkadir Yusuf, the Sokoto manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), had earlier confirmed the accident and said dozens of bodies, including those of children, had been recovered.

Also, the spokesperson for the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Abdullahi Ghani, said authorities were still at the scene assessing the situation and working to determine the exact number of affected people.

Local residents said the boat was carrying more than 70 people when it capsized.

The latest incident adds to a series of deadly boat accidents recorded on Nigeria’s waterways, where overcrowding, inadequate safety measures and weak enforcement of regulations have frequently been identified as contributing factors.