LAGOS (AFP) — Rescue workers are searching for more than 40 people after a boat accident in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto State, the country’s emergency agency said on Sunday.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said in a statement that the boat, which was carrying more than 50 passengers to a market, capsized on Sunday morning.

“About 10 persons have been rescued, while more than 40 passengers remain missing,” NEMA added.

Boat accidents are common on Nigeria’s poorly regulated waterways due to overcrowding and poor maintenance, particularly during the annual rainy season when rivers and lakes overflow.

At least 16 farmers died in a similar accident in August 2024 when a wooden canoe carrying them across a river to their rice fields capsized in Sokoto state.

On 29 July, six girls drowned after a boat taking them home from farm work capsized midstream in northwestern Jigawa State.

Two days earlier, at least 13 people had died in another boat accident in central Niger State.