Kano, Nigeria

An overloaded boat capsized in a river in northwest Nigeria, killing 15 children while 25 others are reported missing, according to a local official quoted by AFP. The children were travelling from Dundeji village in Sokoto State on Tuesday to collect firewood on the other side of Shagari River, Aliyu Abubakar, local administrator of Shagari district, said.

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"We woke up to a tragedy yesterday morning, where a boat carrying children capsized mid-river," Abubakar told AFP.

"Fifteen bodies, 13 girls and two boys, were recovered by local rescue teams and buried in the village," said the official, who supervised the rescue operation.

In Nigeria, river accidents are a common occurrence. These incidents are often caused by overloading, poor maintenance, heavy flooding in the rainy season and disregard for regulations. 

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Divers have been trying to search for more children on the river since late on Tuesday.

"I'll only pray for the repose of those who lost their lives and may Allah give their parents the fortitude to bear the loss because whoever loses his loved one has no other choice," Mohammed Yello Abubakar, a relative of a missing child and boatman on the Shagari river, said.

Last year, in the month of April, 29 children from nearby Gidan Magana village in Sokoto drowned in the same river after their boat capsized. These children were also on their way to fetch firewood for their families.

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Then in December last year, rains caused massive flooding. Seventy-six people lost their lives when their boat sank in a swollen river. This tragedy took place in southeast Anambra State.

May 2021 saw one of the country's worst river disasters. Only 20 people were rescued and more than 150 went missing when a boat transporting people to market broke apart while travelling between Kebbi and Niger states.

Nigeria's waterways authority has tried to ban night-time sailing on rivers to stop accidents, and overloading vessels is a criminal offence, but skippers and crews often flout the rules.

River transport and market trade are common in Nigeria, where roads are often in poor condition. The Niger, West Africa's main river flowing through Guinea to Nigeria's Niger Delta, is a key local trade route.

(With inputs from agencies)

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