Hundreds Missing After Boat Sinks in Nigeria

In a tragic incident in Nigeria, an overloaded boat ferrying passengers to a market sank in the Niger River. Over 150 people were feared missing in the incident, officials said. The boat was sailing between Central Niger State and Wara in northwest Kebbi state when it went down. As of now the official number of casualties are yet to be known and rescue operations are on.

As per details by a local official who had earlier said around 140 people were missing after the disaster happened on Wednesday morning. "The boat capacity was not up to the 180 passengers it carried," he said. He told that only 20 people have been rescued so far and confirmed four deaths.

As per sources, boat tragedies are common on Nigerian waterways, and many of them are due to overcrowding, bad weather, and lack of maintenance.

However, it is said that Wednesday's accident was one of the deadliest in recent accidents. Early this month 28 people drowned when an overloaded boat capsized in Niger state.