Nigeria boat accident toll rises to 52 dead, mostly children

LAGOS — At least 52 people died when a boat carrying farmers and workers to rice farms capsized in northwestern Nigeria’s Sokoto State, officials said on Friday.The boat capsized on Thursday while crossing a waterway near Gorau town in the Goronyo Local Government Area, according to reports.The head of operations of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Sokoto State, Tukur Abubakar, confirmed that the death toll had risen to 52 as of Friday morning.“The death toll has now risen to 52,” Abubakar told Anadolu. “We are about to meet with officials of the local government to know the families of the victims,” he said.Anadolu earlier said the boat was carrying farmers and laborers heading to rice farms when it overturned. Abdulkadir Yusuf, the Sokoto manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), had earlier confirmed the accident and said dozens of bodies, including those of children, had been recovered. Also, the spokesperson for the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Abdullahi Ghani, said authorities were still at the scene assessing the situation and working to determine the exact number of affected people.Local residents said the boat was carrying more than 70 people when it capsized.Nasiru Adamu, a politician at the Sokoto State legislature, said that those on board were mostly aged ⁠between 10 and 15 years old. NIWA’s Abdulkadir Yusuf said the bodies of at least 40 children had been found.Abdullahi Ghani, spokesperson for the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), told the Anadolu news agency that authorities were still at the scene assessing the situation and working to determine the exact number of people involved in the accident.A former councillor in Gorau told the AFP news agency that dozens had already been buried.Resident Samaila Garba said his 13-year-old granddaughter, Jamila Usman, was among the dead.“You know, during the rainy season, most women and children go to the farm to work,” he told The Associated Press.One resident, Aminu Dan Hajiya, said he goes to his farm using the same waterway and considers himself lucky not to have been on the boat.“In fact, almost every household in the community has been affected,” he told AP.The latest incident adds to a series of deadly boat accidents recorded on Nigeria’s waterways, where overcrowding, inadequate safety measures and weak enforcement of regulations have frequently been identified as contributing factors.A boat capsized in Jigawa State last month, with at least five people reported to have drowned.In January, at least 26 people drowned when a boat carrying farmers and fishermen from Jigawa to Yobe State capsized.