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Gorau boat capsizes
A boat capsized on Thursday in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto state near Gorau in the Goronyo local government area, killing at least 50 people, mostly children, as rescue efforts continued.
“At least 50 people, mostly children, died”
Reuters reported that a Reuters witness saw 50 bodies lying in the forecourt of a community mosque ahead of burial in Gorau later on Thursday, while Abdulkadir Yusuf, an area manager at the National Inland Waterways Authority, said the deaths were “so far.”
The National Inland Waterways Authority confirmed 41 deaths and 11 rescued in a boat mishap at Gorau community on the Goronyo River in Sokoto State, with the incident occurring on Wednesday, according to Mr Abdulkadir Yusuf speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Sokoto.
Officials and residents said the boat was carrying more than 80 people heading to farms for work in Gorau town, and Reuters said the boat had been carrying farm owners and labourers hired to harvest rice when it capsized.
Bodies, children, and burial
In Sokoto, witnesses and residents described a grim recovery and burial process, with Reuters saying Yusuf said the bodies of around 40 children had been found and that 16 people had been rescued.
Sharhabilu Kiliya, an eyewitness, said, "We have buried 46 people, and even more dead bodies have just been brought. The death toll is 53," as officials continued heading to the scene.
The Punch Newspapers reported that the Sokoto State Police Command confirmed 46 bodies recovered and 15 passengers rescued alive, and that rescue operations were still ongoing for the remaining 16 passengers.
A resident, Samaila Garba, told the Associated Press that his 13-year-old granddaughter, Jamila Usman, was among those who died, and he said he had counted at least 42 bodies of victims, most of them women and children.
Safety failures and next steps
Multiple accounts tied the disaster to unsafe conditions on Nigeria’s waterways, with Reuters describing overcrowding, poor maintenance and weak enforcement of safety regulations as contributing factors on rivers and waterways during the rainy season.
“weak enforcement of safety regulations often contribute to disasters”
The National Inland Waterways Authority attributed the incident to negligence, canoe overloading and violation of safety rules, and said teams including NIWA, NEMA, SEMA, the Red Cross Society and local volunteers were on the site.
In Sokoto, a former councillor Ibrahim Musa said, "We have already buried 46 bodies, and five others have just been brought out of the river," while Dahir Kure, spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency in the state, said rescue operations were under way.
The African Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Sokoto State, Hon. Manir Muhammad Dan’iya, called for urgent measures to prevent similar accidents, saying, "No farmer should have to risk his or her life simply to access a farm and provide food for the family," and urging the deployment of additional personnel, medical teams and rescue equipment.
