At least 46 people have died in north-western Nigeria after a boat carrying more than 70 people, most of them children, capsized near Gorau in Sokoto state. A search operation is continuing for those still missing, in what is the latest of several deadly boat accidents to hit the country this year.

Police said 46 bodies had been recovered by Thursday, with 16 people rescued safely and 15 still unaccounted for. A witness said many of the children were travelling with farm workers heading to help with a rice harvest, and described around 50 bodies wrapped in mats and cloth laid outside a mosque awaiting burial. Nigeria's emergency management agency said the remote location was hampering the response. Boat accidents are common in the country, blamed on overcrowding, poorly maintained vessels and weak enforcement of safety rules, with similar incidents killing dozens in Jigawa and Yobe states earlier this year and 54 people dying in a River Niger capsize in December 2024.