LAGOS, Nigeria

Nearly 200 passengers reportedly went missing Friday after a boat capsized in Nigeria, officials and local residents said.

The boat carrying passengers, including women, traders, and farmers, capsized along the Dambo-Ebuchi stretch of River Niger in north-central Niger State, local residents told Anadolu.

Ibrahim Musa, a resident and trader, said most of the passengers boarded the boat to disembark at Ebuchi.

"Many of them were going to the market," he told Anadolu.

National Inland Waterway Authority spokesman Suleiman Makama said a search and rescue operation was underway.

"We have deployed rescue workers to the scene," he told Anadolu by phone.