At Least 46 Dead After Boat Carrying 77 Passengers Capsizes in Sokoto State
- Police confirmed at least 46 bodies were recovered after a boat capsized in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State
- Seven passengers were rescued alive while 24 remained missing as search and rescue operations continued on Thursday
- The tragedy struck barely a year after another boat accident in the same local government area claimed four lives in August 2025
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At least 46 people are dead after a boat carrying 77 passengers capsized in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, the police said on August 20.
The state police command's spokesperson, Ahmad Rufai, said the boat was travelling from Gorau to Birjingo when it went down.
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According to BBC, seven survivors had been pulled from the water, while 24 passengers remained unaccounted for. "There were 77 passengers moving from Gorau to Birjingo. Seven rescued alive and 46 recovered dead, while 24 declared missing. Search is still on," Rufai said.
Conflicting figures as search continues
Casualty numbers varied across different accounts of the disaster. A Reuters correspondent said they saw 50 bodies, many already wrapped for burial, at a community mosque in Gorau.
The news agency quoted Nasiru Adamu, a member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, as saying 16 passengers had been rescued, while a resident, Sharhabilu Kiliya, put the death toll at 53.
The Associated Press cited Abdulkadir Yusuf, the Sokoto State manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority, who gave a figure of 47 dead.
Estimates of the total number of passengers also differed across official and community sources. The discrepancies could not immediately be resolved, and the cause of the accident had not been established as of Thursday.
Goronyo boat accidents
The incident is the second major boat tragedy to hit Goronyo Local Government Area in roughly 12 months. On August 17, 2025, a canoe carrying more than 50 passengers capsized near Kojiyo village while heading to Goronyo Market.
The National Emergency Management Agency coordinated a multi-agency response involving the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency, the National Inland Waterways Authority, Goronyo Local Government Council and local divers.
Following that search operation, the Sokoto State Government said four passengers died, 41 were rescued and five remained missing. The government added that it had procured 20 motorised boats and life jackets for distribution to riverine communities, with two of those boats allocated specifically to Goronyo Local Government Area.
The back-to-back accidents in the same area raise fresh questions about water transport safety in communities where residents rely on boats to reach farms, markets and neighbouring settlements.
Ferry capsize kills 72
Legit.ng earlier reported that Zimbabwe police said on Saturday that the death toll from a ferry disaster on Lake Kariba had climbed to 72, after rescuers pulled 26 additional bodies from the water in the days following the vessel's capsizing.
The ferry went down on Tuesday amid strong waves while carrying passengers from the town of Kariba towards remote rural and fishing settlements in the country's northwest.
Source: Legit.ng
