Video shows passengers in overloaded boat moments before it capsized in Niger state

A video showing passengers in an ill-fated boat just before it capsized in Niger State has been shared. 

The boat took off from Mundi Village conveying passengers to Gbajibo village in Mokwa local council of Niger State after local market day on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. 

A video shared by Channels Television shows passengers sitting in the crowded boat without life jackets. 

The boat is said to have capsized moments after the video was taken. 

The locally made wooden boat, with a capacity of 100 passengers, had about 300 people on board when it overturned in the rural Mokwa district, an emergency official said on Wednesday, October 2. 

As of last night, a combined effort by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), the Niger State National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and local divers had recovered 70 bodies and rescued 150 passengers. 

The search for the remaining missing passengers is still ongoing.