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Eight people are confirmed dead and several others have gone missing after a ferry capsized and sank in the northwestern Nigerian state of Niger on Monday, January 15. The unnamed wooden-hulled vessel was transporting over 100 people to nearby Kebbi state when the incident occurred on the afternoon (local time) of Monday.
Rescue teams consisting of divers, personnel of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), and other local partners subsequently pulled five survivors and the bodies of eight deceased individuals out of the water. However, a final tally of survivors and deceased victims could not yet be published as the exact number of people who were on the boat is still unknown. NSEMA spokesperson Ibrahim Hussaini said a sudden change in wind direction had caused the overcrowded vessel to sink.
The capsizing is the third fatal passenger vessel incident to occur in Nigerian waters since the beginning of the year. On January 7, eight people were killed after a boat capsized in Anambra state in the southeast. Just two days later, an accident that reportedly involved two vessels in Rivers state left at least nine people dead.