ABUJA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 40 bodies have been recovered after a wooden canoe carrying scores of passengers capsized shortly after setting off to cross a river in Nigeria's northwestern state of Sokoto Thursday morning, local authorities said.
The wooden boat was carrying mostly local farmers and young laborers when it suddenly overturned in Gorau, a town in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) said.
Abdulkadir Yusuf, area manager of NIWA in Sokoto, told Xinhua that 40 bodies, including those of children, had been recovered from the scene of the incident.
Citing a preliminary investigation, Yusuf said the boat capsized due to "severe overloading," as the passengers were traveling to plant or harvest rice on their farmlands across the river.
Local media reported that most of the bodies recovered so far were those of children aged between 10 and 15 who worked as laborers on the farms. More than 70 people were reportedly aboard the canoe.
Zubaida Umar, director-general of the National Emergency Management Agency, told Xinhua that the agency had deployed a response team to support ongoing search and rescue operations following the boat accident in Sokoto.
"In collaboration with local authorities, the NIWA and State Emergency Management Agency, and local divers, operations are being intensified to locate missing persons and recover victims," the official added.
Boat accidents, often caused by overloading, adverse weather conditions, and operational errors, are common in Nigeria. ■
