100 people killed after boat returning from wedding capsizes in Nigeria

A boat carrying residents returning from a wedding capsized in northern Nigeria killing about 100 people, police and local residents said Tuesday, as a search for survivors intensified.

The boat capsized early Monday on the Niger River in the state of Kwara close to neighboring Niger state, police spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi said.

“What we gathered was there was a boat that capsized and about 100 people died,” he said.

The victims, including women and children, were returning from an overnight wedding ceremony in the village of Egboti in Niger state, said Usman Ibrahim, a resident.

It was not immediately clear if there were survivors.

“People in the boat were to take their bikes to their various communities (upon disembarking). The boat was carrying more than 100 people when it sank,” said Ibrahim.

Many of the victims drowned because the accident happened at about 3 a.m. and not many knew of it until hours later, he said. “Up till now, some dead bodies are still being searched (for).”

As of Tuesday afternoon, officials and locals were still searching for more bodies in the river, which is one of Nigeria’s largest.

River transport and market trade are common in Nigeria, where roads are often poor. The Niger, West Africa’s main river travelling through Guinea to Nigeria’s Niger Delta, is a key local trade route.

Boat accidents are common in many remote communities across Nigeria where locally made vessels are commonly used for transport. Most accidents are attributed to overloading and the use of poorly maintained boats.

Last month, 15 children drowned when a boat capsized in a river in northwest Nigeria’s Sokoto state. In 2022, 76 people died when a boat capsized in a flood-swollen river in  Anambra state.

In one of the country’s worst river disasters in May 2021, only 20 people were rescued and more than 150 went missing when a boat transporting people to market broke apart while travelling between Kebbi and Niger states.

AFP contributed to this report.