At least 40 women and children are feared to have died after a passenger canoe overturned in Ringim Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The Jigawa State Police Command confirmed the incident on Monday and said search and rescue teams were still looking for those who remain missing.
In a statement posted on its official Facebook page, the command said one body had been recovered while efforts continued to find the others.
“One of the bodies was recovered. Efforts to recover the 39 are underway,” the police said.
The Director of Planning at the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Muhammad Sanusi, also confirmed the accident. He said most of the victims were female farmers and agricultural workers travelling in the canoe when it capsized.
Sanusi said the cause of the accident had not yet been confirmed. He added that emergency workers, local divers and community members were taking part in the search for survivors and victims.
He also said officials were still trying to confirm how many people were on the canoe and the total number of casualties.
“Hands are on deck as combined efforts continue to determine the exact number of those rescued or missing,” he said.
The latest accident has raised fresh concern over the repeated boat disasters in parts of northern Nigeria, where many rural communities depend on waterways for transport.
Many of these accidents have been blamed on overloading, poor boat maintenance and the lack of proper safety equipment, including life jackets.
Authorities are expected to release more information as the rescue operation continues.
