Boat capsizes in Nigeria, drowning at least 40 people
Al Jazeera
The wooden boat was carrying mostly farmers across a river near Gummi town when the incident occurred.
At least 40 people have drowned and are presumed to have died after their boat capsized on a river in northwest Nigeria, officials say.
The wooden boat was ferrying more than 50 farmers to their fields across the river near Gummi town in Zamfara state on Saturday when it capsized, a local official said on Sunday.
“Only 12 were rescued yesterday shortly after the accident,” said Na’Allah Musa, a political administrator of the flood-hit Gummi district where the accident happened, adding that authorities were searching for the bodies of the rest of the passengers.
Musa added that the vessel was “crammed with passengers far beyond its capacity, which caused it to overturn and sink”.
“This is the second time such an incident has occurred in the Gummi local government area,” Aminu Nuhu Falale, a local administrator who led the rescue efforts, told Reuters news agency.
