At least 40 children have died after a boat capsized in the town of Gorau in Nigeria's Sokoto State, according to infohub.kz.
According to international media, the tragedy occurred when a boat carrying people overturned. Witnesses say there were about 70 people on board, mostly children aged 10 to 15, who were heading to a rice harvest. Authorities said 40 bodies of children and 3 adults have been recovered from the water. Sixteen people were rescued. Rescue operations are ongoing at the scene.
It is worth noting that such incidents with passenger boats are not uncommon in Nigeria. The main causes of such accidents are overloading, lack of proper inspection and maintenance, and violation of navigation rules.
The last serious disaster of this kind occurred in January this year in Yobe State, when a leaking boat capsized, killing 25 people.