40 killed, several missing as overloaded boat capsizes in Nigeria; rescue ops on

An overloaded boat capsized in Sokoto state on Thursday, and about 40 children's bodies have been recovered so far. The search is continuing with local divers involved as officials confirm the scale of the tragedy.

In Short

• The vessel overturned on Thursday morning in Nigeria's north-western Sokoto state
• Passengers were reportedly travelling for rice planting or harvesting work
• Abdulkadir Yusuf confirmed the recovery figures to Reuters on Thursday

An overloaded boat capsized in north-western Nigeria's Sokoto state on Thursday, with around 40 children's bodies recovered so far as local divers continued searching for more victims.

Abdulkadir Yusuf, an area manager with the National Inland Waterways Authority, confirmed the recovery to news agency Reuters.

"I can confirm that so far around 40 corpses of children have been recovered," Yusuf said. The boat capsized on Thursday morning as passengers were travelling for rice planting or harvesting, according to Sarkin Daji, a traditional leader in the area.

Local resident Nasiru Gorau said community divers were involved in the recovery operation.

"Our local divers recovered the bodies and the search is still ongoing," he said. A local resident told Reuters that the boat was carrying farm owners and labourers hired to harvest rice, with more than 70 people on board when it capsized. Another resident, however, put the number of passengers at 57.

SEARCH FOR VICTIMS CONTINUES

The latest disaster adds to a long list of deadly boat accidents in Nigeria, where inland waterways are used in areas with poor road links. Overloading, inadequate safety measures and poorly maintained vessels have repeatedly been blamed for fatal accidents.

In January, at least 25 people died after a passenger boat carrying 52 people capsized on the Yobe River in north-eastern Nigeria. Fourteen others were reported missing, while 13 were rescued.

A year earlier, in November 2024, at least 27 people died and more than 100 were reported missing after a boat carrying about 200 passengers sank on the Niger River between Kogi and Niger states.

DEADLY BOAT ACCIDENTS PERSIST

Sokoto itself witnessed another major boat accident in August 2025, when a vessel carrying around 50 people capsized while travelling to Goronyo market. At least 25 people were rescued, while another 25 were missing and presumed dead.

The same month, a separate boat accident in neighbouring Niger state killed at least 13 people after a vessel carrying about 100 passengers overturned.

One of Nigeria's deadliest recent waterway disasters occurred in Kwara state in June 2023, when a boat carrying wedding guests capsized on the Niger River. More than 100 people were killed, with women and children among the victims.

- Ends