Nigeria's Emergency Management Agency says 14 bodies have been recovered so far in central Niger State, where around 150 passengers are missing after a boat capsized late Tuesday. Authorities say the tragedy was caused by overloading the boat.
The Niger state emergency agency says rescue workers continue to search for more survivors along the River Niger, where the accident happened.
About 300 passengers on the boat from the Mundi community had attended a religious celebration in nearby Gbajibo village Tuesday night when the boat capsized.
Officials say about 150 passengers were rescued, but the rest are yet to be accounted for.
"Right now, there are 14 corpses that have been recovered, and the local divers are still in the water right now," said Zainab Sulaiman, the Niger State emergency coordinator. "The boat was overloaded, which is what has been happening. They overload the boats, and, you know, most of these boats are old. So, with the weight of people, sometimes they even carry foodstuff in bags, you see that the boat capsizes or breaks into two."
Boat accidents are not uncommon in Nigeria, where safety regulations on waterways — including load limits and the use of safety jackets — are poorly enforced and often ignored by locals.
Authorities also say locals often ignore warnings about late-night travels by water.
But the latest accident raises concerns about government negligence.
"As far as I'm concerned, there's no one using life jackets in Niger State," a Niger State official who didn't want to be named told VOA. "You know, these are rural areas; they don't even know what life jackets is all about. So, there's nobody sensitizing them on the use of life jackets. The state government ought to have procured all these, but there's none."
Sulaiman said stronger law enforcement is needed.
"The regulatory authorities should start to enforce these laws." Sulaiman said. "If they need to send officers there at the boarding point, it will go a long way."
Climate change is also contributing to the challenge. Nigeria has been seeing water levels rise due to unprecedented rainfall and flooding.
Last week, Nigeria's hydrological agency warned of rising rivers and the potential risk of flooding following the release of water from Cameroon's Lagdo Dam.
Last month, more than 60 farmers died in northwest Zamfara State when their boat capsized.
