103 killed as boat capsizes in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 103 people have drowned in northern Nigeria after a boat carrying families returning from a wedding sank in a river, police and local authorities said on Tuesday.

Residents and police were searching for dozens of people who were on the overcrowded boat that capsized early on Monday on the Niger River in the Pategi district of Kwara state, which is 160 kilometers from Ilorin, the state capital, police spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi said.

"So far we have 103 people dead and over 100 rescued from the boat accident. Search and rescue is still ongoing which means the toll is likely to rise."

Most of those who drowned were people from several villages who attended the wedding together and partied late into the night, said Abdul Gana Lukpada, a local chief. They arrived at the ceremony on motorcycles but had to leave on a locally made boat after a downpour flooded the road, he said.

"The boat was overloaded and close to 300 people were in it. The boat hit a big log in the river and split into two."

The wedding was held in the village of Egboti in the neighboring Niger state, said Usman Ibrahim, a resident. Because the accident happened at around 3 am, it was hours before many people knew what had happened, he said.

As the passengers drowned, nearby villagers rushed to the scene and managed to rescue about 50 at first, Lukpada said, describing early efforts to rescue the passengers as slow and "very difficult".

Rescue operation

As of Tuesday afternoon, officials and locals were still searching for more bodies in the river, one of the largest in Nigeria. Police spokesman Ajayi said the rescue operation would continue through the night until Wednesday.

Locals said it was the deadliest boat accident they have seen in many years.

By Tuesday evening, all of the bodies recovered so far had been buried in accordance with the local customs, Lukpada said.

The Kwara state governor's office issued a statement expressing sorrow over the deaths of the boat passengers, saying the governor was monitoring the rescue efforts which had been underway since Monday night in search of possible survivors.

Boat accidents are common in many remote communities across Nigeria where locally made vessels are commonly used for transportation.

Last month, 15 children drowned and 25 others went missing after their overloaded boat capsized in northwest Sokoto state as they were on their way to collect firewood.

Most accidents were attributed to overloading, bad weather and the use of poorly maintained boats.

Agencies - Xinhua