More than 100 people have drowned in north central Nigeria after a boat carrying families returning from a wedding sank in a river, police and local authorities said on Tuesday Details about the accident in Kwara State were still emerging, but it was the latest boat tragedy in Nigeria where river capsizes are common due to overloading, lax safety procedures and heavy flooding in the rainy season.
The river boat was ferrying people in Kwara State from a wedding in neighbouring Niger State when it went down, local state police and the governor’s office said, without giving details of the cause.”So far we have 103 people dead and over 100 rescued from the boat accident,” Kwara State police spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi told AFP by telephone.”Search and rescue is still ongoing which means the toll is likely to rise.”
Kwara State governor’s office did not give a toll, but said the victims had been returning from a wedding ceremony to Kwara’s Patigi district.
