NIGER, Nigeria — Dozens of people are feared dead after a boat carrying over 300 passengers capsized on the River Niger in north-central Nigeria on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, night, officials said.
The passengers were en route to celebrate the Muslim festival of Mawlid when the boat overturned near Mundi village in Niger State.
Abdullahi Baba Arah, head of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), confirmed that 26 bodies had been recovered as of Thursday, while 150 people were rescued alive.
However, local reports suggest that the death toll may be higher, with some estimating around 60 casualties.
“Search efforts are still ongoing,” Arah said, adding that the majority of the passengers were women and children.
“There was a prompt response from community volunteers who, along with brave local divers, have been working tirelessly to rescue as many people as possible,” Arah said in a statement.
Despite these efforts, it remains unclear how many people are still missing as there was no official register of passengers on board.
The boat had been travelling from the village of Mundi toward Gbajibo, where passengers intended to celebrate Mawlid, a festival commemorating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Nsema official Ibrahim Husaini noted the difficulty in determining the exact number of missing people, given the lack of records.
“We estimate that about 150 people remain unaccounted for, but without a manifest, it’s hard to be certain,” he told the BBC.
Incidents like this are tragically common on the River Niger, Africa’s third-longest river, particularly during the rainy season when water levels rise, making navigation treacherous.
Many boats on the river are often overcrowded and poorly maintained, increasing the risk of accidents.
Debris, such as tree branches, also poses a hazard for vessels traversing the waterway.
In September 2023, at least 24 people died in a similar incident in the same region when a boat carrying more than 50 passengers overturned. The passengers were on their way to farmland for the harvest.
As search operations continue, authorities have called for stricter regulations on boat travel to prevent further tragedies on the River Niger.
