At least 46 people, most of them children, were killed after a boat capsized in northwestern Nigeria. Sixteen people were rescued alive, while 15 others remain missing.

According to reports, the boat was carrying more than 70 passengers when it sank near Gorau in the Goronyo area of Sokoto State. Many of those on board were believed to be children.

Police spokesperson Ahmad Rufai said on Thursday that 46 bodies had been recovered so far, while search and rescue operations were continuing for the missing passengers.

The rescue operation has been difficult because the accident occurred in a remote and hard-to-reach area. Security forces and emergency workers have been deployed to the scene.

A witness told Reuters that the passengers were believed to include farmers, agricultural workers and children travelling to farmland for rice harvesting. The witness said he saw around 50 bodies, with several placed outside a local mosque wrapped in mats and traditional cloth before burial preparations.

Ezekiel Manzo, a spokesperson for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), told the BBC that rescue teams had reached the remote area.

Boat accidents are common in Nigeria, often blamed on overloading, poor maintenance of vessels and weak enforcement of safety regulations.

Last month, at least five people were killed when a boat capsized in Jigawa State. In January this year, at least 26 farmers and fishermen died when a boat sank while travelling from Jigawa to Yobe State.

In December 2024, 54 bodies were recovered from the Niger River after a boat believed to be carrying more than 200 passengers sank.

Authorities have recommended several measures to reduce boat accidents, including providing safer vessels and life jackets, improving waterways, deploying waterway safety personnel at jetties and terminals, and ensuring proper training and licensing for boat operators.

For millions of Nigerians, particularly those living in rural areas, waterways remain an essential means of transportation due to poor road conditions and a lack of bridges. Wooden boats are widely used to transport people and goods and to connect remote communities with markets and nearby areas.