At least 40 women and children are feared dead after a canoe capsized in Ringim Local Government Area of Jigawa State.
The Jigawa State Police Command confirmed the incident on Monday, disclosing that search and rescue operations were ongoing to locate the missing passengers.
In a statement on its official Facebook page, the command said one body had been recovered while efforts continued to retrieve the remaining victims.
“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 incident, noting that the victims were mostly female farmers and agricultural workers travelling in the canoe when it capsized.
Sanusi said the exact cause of the accident had yet to be established, adding that emergency officials, local divers and community members had joined the search for survivors and victims.
He said authorities were still working to ascertain the actual number of people who were on board 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 incident has renewed concerns over recurring boat accidents in parts of northern Nigeria, where many rural communities rely on waterways as a major means of transportation.
Such accidents have frequently been blamed on overloading, poor vessel maintenance and inadequate use of safety equipment like life jackets.
Authorities are expected to release further updates as rescue operations continue.
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