MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) – Nigerian authorities recovered 14 bodies and rescued 21 people after a boat accident in northwestern Sokoto state, a local police spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The wooden boat was carrying 36 people, mostly women, when it capsized on Tuesday while crossing a river in Shagari district, Sanusi Abubakar, the Sokoto police spokesperson said.
One person was still missing.
Residents said the women were on their way to fetch firewood in a neighbouring forest when the accident happened.
Overcrowding and poor maintenance of boats is responsible for most accidents on Nigerian waterways.
(Reporting by Ahmed Kingimi, editing by MacDonald Dzirutwe and Alex Richardson)
