Minna, Niger - September 11 - Mediaage NG News – No fewer than 26 persons died on Sunday from a capsized wooden boat, carrying over 100 passengers in the northern Nigerian state of Niger.
According to the spokesperson to the state governor, Bologi Ibrahim, more than 30 persons were rescued by a combined operation team, including marine police and local divers, in collaboration with the State Emergency Management Agency.
The passengers include women and children, who live in communities between Jebba and Kainji dam in Mokwa area of the state, before it hit a reservoir.
The cause of the accident is not yet known.
Mr Ibrahim however blamed overcrowding and lack of life jackets.
Official reports say that most of the passengers were crossing the dam to attend to their farms.
In June, more than100 people died when an overloaded boat traveling to Niger state capsized after part of the vessel collapsed, causing water to flood the boat, in one of the worst such disasters in recent years.
