Nigeria boat disaster kills 29, mostly children
An overloaded boat carrying dozens of passengers, mostly children aged eight to 15, capsized late on Tuesday in northwest Nigeria's Kano state, a rescue agency spokesman said.
"We have recovered 29 bodies... and rescued seven passengers. The search for the remaining 13 bodies is ongoing," Saminu Abdullahi, spokesman for Kano state's fire service, told AFP Wednesday.
Abdullahi said the boat was "meant to ferry 12 adults but the skipper packed such a number of children onboard."
Boat accidents are tragically common on Nigerian waterways mostly due to overcrowding, bad weather and lack of maintenance.
The children, from Badau village in Kano state, were on their way to Bagwai, a town on the other side of the river, for a religious ceremony.
Last month seven girls aged between 10 and 12 drowned in neighboring Jigawa state when their boat capsized.
In June, 13 people died in Sokoto state when a boat ferrying wedding guests capsized.
One of the worst recorded incidents was in May, when more than 150 people went missing after their wooden boat broke apart and sank on the Niger river.
The National Inland Waterways Authority banned night-time sailing in the area but enforcement has been poor.
(Source: AFP)
Hundreds rally in Niger for US departure, Russian support
Nigerian police kill 4, injure 20 during Quds Day rally
Nigeria: Troops deployed to rescue 250 kidnapped schoolchildren
Ukraine launches drone strikes on Russia's energy sites
VIDEO | Anti-US sentiments grow in Iraq as US military presence unresolved
Jamaica officially recognizes state of Palestine
Raeisi attends inauguration of Iran-built mage multipurpose project in Sri Lanka
'Sinwar still supervising Gaza war; Israel deliberately delaying talks on captives'
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
UK's Rwanda deportation plan morally disgraceful
VIDEO | Raeisi inaugurates Iranian-built mega multipurpose project in Sri Lanka
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
