At least 60 people have been confirmed dead after a boat carrying more than 100 passengers capsized in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, officials said on Wednesday.
The vessel, which departed Tungan Sule in Malale district on Tuesday morning for Dugga, was conveying mourners to a condolence visit when it struck a submerged tree stump near Gausawa community around 11 a.m.
Chairman of Borgu LGA, Abdullahi Baba Ara, told Reuters that the casualty figure continued to rise. “The death toll of the boat incident has risen to 60. Ten people have been found in serious condition and many are still being sought,” he said.
The district head of Shagumi, Sa’adu Inuwa Muhammad, who was at the scene, confirmed that the boat carried more than 100 passengers. “We were able to recover 31 corpses from the river. The boat was also recovered and removed,” he said, adding that women and children made up the majority of the victims. Four were buried on Tuesday in line with Islamic rites.
The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) said its personnel, assisted by local divers, had rescued 50 people and were still searching for two missing persons. The agency blamed the tragedy on overloading and a collision with a tree stump.
Boat mishaps are common in Nigeria, particularly during the rainy season, often linked to poor enforcement of safety regulations, overcrowding, and use of rickety vessels.
