At least 50 people dead after boat carrying farm workers capsizes in Nigeria

At least 50 people, mostly children, have died after a boat carrying farm labourers capsized in Nigeria.

Emergency services have been recovering bodies in the Goronyo area of the northwest ​Sokoto state after the incident on Thursday morning.

A witness for the Reuters news agency saw 50 bodies, many wrapped in ‌mats and traditional cloths, lying in the forecourt of a community mosque ahead of their ​burial.

Abdulkadir Yusuf, an area manager at the ​National Inland Waterways Authority, said rescue efforts were continuing. He also said that the bodies of 40 children had been found.

Estimates on the number of people the boat had been carrying varied, from as few as 57 to as many as 80, most of whom were heading to work in the farms around the town of Gorau.

Resident Samaila Garba, 55, said his 13-year-old granddaughter, Jamila Usman, had died in the capsizing.

He told the Associated Press: "You know, during the rainy season, most women and children go to the farm to work."

Another resident said ‌the boat had been carrying farm owners and labourers who were working to harvest rice.

Mustapha Umar, director of relief and rehabilitation at the state's emergency ⁠management agency, confirmed officials had been dispatched to the scene and that the agency would provide further ​information later.

It's not exactly clear on which waterway the boat was sailing at the time but there is a navigable river, the Rima, in the area, which has been dammed nearby creating a wide area of open water, the Goronyo Reservoir.

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Overcrowding, poor maintenance and weak safety regulations mean deadly boat accidents are common in Nigeria, especially in the rainy season which runs from May or June through September and hits its peak around August.

A range of disasters have unfolded on the country's rivers and waterways.

In January, at least 25 ⁠people died when another ​boat capsized in the northeastern state of Yobe.

(c) Sky News 2026: At least 50 people dead after boat carrying farm workers capsizes in Nigeria