Over 70 people went missing after a boat accident in northern Nigeria, Associated Press reported, citing head of Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency Ladan Ayuba.
According to the outlet, Ayuba revealed that the boat, capsized on the country's Benue River, carried about 100 traders returning from a fish market in Nigerien Taraba state's Ardo-Kola district on board. The accident resulted in 14 people rescued, 17 individuals dead and 73 people missing.
Taraba police spokesperson Usman Abdullahi said that authorities launched an investigation regarding the cause of the accident, adding that rescue agencies were receiving assistance from locals and fishermen, the report noted.
In addition, Abdullahi highlighted that with the river flowing at its highest level, the rescue operation could take days, the media said.
"We don't even expect to get the bodies anywhere near here," he was quoted by the outlet by saying.
Moreover, Governor of Taraba Agbu Kefas reportedly ordered to use life jackets for boat passengers and noted that the river should be a "source of wealth and not death," adding that the accident is a "monumental tragedy."
"Our body of water, which is one of the longest in the region, should be a veritable source of wealth and not death," the governor said, according to a statement issued Monday by his office," he said.
As for other cases of boat capsizing, in early September, a vessel, which was ferrying more than 100 farmers, overturned on the Niger River, leaving 26 people dead and dozens of others missing, the country's emergency service said.
Furthermore, in June, at least 100 people were reportedly killed as a boat, which was carrying wedding guests returning to their village in the country's Kwara State, toppled in western Nigeria.