By John Ikani
Dozens of people are feared dead in Nigeria after a boat carrying about 200 broke in two and sank, officials say.
Most passengers were women and children travelling from neighhouring Niger to the north-western state of Kebbi.
Abdullahi Buhari Wara, administrative head of Ngaski district, blamed the accident on overloading, as the boat was meant to carry not more than 80 passengers.
The boat was also loaded with bags of sand from a gold mine, he said.
Qasimu Umar Wara, a resident of the nearby town of Wara said locals expected more people to wash to shore in the coming days.
He said most of the passengers were returning from a newly-discovered gold vein in neighboring Niger. The Wara resident said most of the people who take the boat travel in the evening and return in the mornings.
“Most of them are petty traders, food vendors and the local miners,” he added.
Boats capsize regularly occur in Nigerien waters because of overcrowding and a lack of maintenance, especially during the annual rainy season.
Earlier this month 30 people drowned when an overloaded boat broke apart in central Niger. The boat broke in two after hitting a stump during a storm, according to emergency officials.
