At least 27 people died when a boat capsized on the Niger River in central Nigeria.
The boat was carrying about 200 passengers from the state of Kogi to a food market in the neighbouring state of Niger when it capsized late on Thursday, with more than half reportedly missing, according to Ibrahim Audu, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Al Jazeera reported.
By Friday evening, rescuers had managed to pull 27 bodies from the river while local divers were still searching for the missing passengers, according to Sandra Musa, spokeswoman for the Kogi State emergency services.
Musa said, “It’s not clear what caused the accident.”
Among possible causes, Musa listed turbulence on the waterway and the age of the boat, attributing the death toll to the absence of life jackets. None of the bodies recovered had life jackets on, she added.
According to Justin Uwazuruonye, who is in charge of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency operations in the state, rescuers had trouble finding the location of the accident for hours.
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