At least 40 bodies recovered after overloaded boat capsizes in Nigeria

At least 40 bodies have been recovered after a wooden canoe carrying scores of passengers capsized shortly after setting off to cross a river in Nigeria's northwestern state of Sokoto Thursday morning, local authorities said.



The wooden boat was carrying mostly local farmers and young laborers when it suddenly overturned in Gorau, a town in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) said.



Abdulkadir Yusuf, area manager of NIWA in Sokoto, told Xinhua that 40 bodies, including those of children, had been recovered from the scene of the incident.



Citing a preliminary investigation, Yusuf said the boat capsized due to "severe overloading," as the passengers were traveling to plant or harvest rice on their farmlands across the river.