Nigeria: Following a boat capsize, over 100 people are missing.
A Nigeria: Over 100 people missing after boat capsizes
Sixteen bodies have been found and 150 people have been rescued during the search. The vessel was nearly three times full, according to officials.
In Nigeria, boats are a popular means of transportation, but not all of them adhere to the safety regulations that are more prevalent in cities like Lagos.
More than 100 people, mostly women and children, are missing after a wooden boat sank on Tuesday in the Niger River in northern Nigeria, authorities reported.
The boat was carrying nearly 300 passengers, three times its capacity, who were returning from a religious festival. The accident happened around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“There were nearly 300 people on the boat, even though it was only designed to hold 100 people. And that is what caused the boat to break,” stated Salihu Garba, the state emergency services’ director of relief and rehabilitation.
A spokesman for Niger state’s emergency services, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, later told the AFP news agency that 16 dead bodies had been found, 14 women and two men.
In Nigeria, boats are a popular means of transportation, but not all of them adhere to the safety regulations that are more prevalent in cities like Lagos.
More than 100 people, mostly women and children, are missing after a wooden boat sank on Tuesday in the Niger River in northern Nigeria, authorities reported.
The boat was carrying nearly 300 passengers, three times its capacity, who were returning from a religious festival. The accident happened around 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
“There were nearly 300 people on the boat, even though it was only designed to hold 100 people. And that is what caused the boat to break,” stated Salihu Garba, the state emergency services’ director of relief and rehabilitation.
A spokesman for Niger state’s emergency services, Ibrahim Audu Husseini, later told the AFP news agency that 16 dead bodies had been found, 14 women and two men.
