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Abuja: A major accident took place in Nigeria on Tuesday. Police and local officials said that a boat carrying 300 people returning from a wedding sank in a river in north central Nigeria. It is being told that more than 100 people have drowned in this incident and many are missing. If the officials are to be believed, the death toll is likely to increase further. However, the rescue operation of the rescuers is going on.
According to the report, the wedding ceremony was taking place in the state of Niger. The boat was carrying wedding guests to Kwara State. The boat was overloaded due to rain and more people. State Police Ajay told that so far 103 people have died in the boat accident and more than 100 people have been rescued.
Drowning is common in the Niger River due to lack of safety procedures and heavy floods. Last month a boat capsized in north-west Sokoto state. In this accident, 15 children drowned and 25 others went missing. About a year ago, 29 children of a village had also drowned in the same river while they were returning from their families.The Niger River is the main waterway of West Africa.
It is also a major local trade route for some countries. Nigeria’s National Inland Waterways Authority has tried to ban night-time sailing on rivers to prevent accidents and make overloading vessels a criminal offence, but captains and crew often ignore the rules.
