At least 27 people died when a boat capsized on the Niger River in central Nigeria, say authorities.

The boat was carrying about 200 passengers from the state of Kogi to a food market in the neighbouring state of Niger when it capsized late on Thursday, with more than half reportedly missing, according to Ibrahim Audu, a spokesman for the Niger State Emergency Management Agency.

By Friday evening, rescuers had managed to pull 27 bodies from the river while local divers were still searching for the missing passengers, according to Sandra Musa, spokeswoman for the Kogi State emergency services.

“It’s not clear what caused the accident,” Musa said. Among possible causes, she listed turbulence on the waterway and the age of the boat, attributing the death toll to the absence of life jackets. None of the bodies recovered had life jackets on, she said.

Rescuers had trouble finding the location of the accident for hours, according to Justin Uwazuruonye, who is in charge of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency operations in the state.

Kogi State Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo said in a statement that most of the victims were women, traders and artisans “involved in legitimate business activities to earn a living and contribute to the economy of the state”.

Villagers and volunteers downstream of the accident were urged to be on the lookout for bodies.

Mass drownings

The accident was the latest in a series of mass drownings on the country’s busy waterways, as authorities struggle to enforce safety measures and regulations for water transportation.

Last month, some 100 people were feared dead after a boat carrying 300 passengers, many of them women and children, to a Muslim festival in Niger State flipped over in the river.

In September, an overloaded boat sank while carrying more than 50 farmers across the Gummi River in Zamfara State, killing more than 40.

In June 2023, more than 100 people died when a riverboat carrying about 250 passengers capsized in the north-central state of Kwara.

Most of the accidents have been attributed to overcrowding and a lack of maintenance of the boats, often built locally to carry as many passengers as possible in defiance of safety measures.

Also, authorities have not been able to enforce the use of life jackets on such trips, often because of lack of availability or cost.