Over 100 feared dead in Nigeria boat accident

Kano, Nigeria: Over 100 people are feared dead after a boat carrying mostly women and children capsized in Nigeria, rescue workers said as they pulled...

Kano, Nigeria: Over 100 people are feared dead after a boat carrying mostly women and children capsized in Nigeria, rescue workers said as they pulled more bodies from the River Niger on Thursday.

Around 300 passengers were on their way to celebrate the Muslim festival Mawlid in north-central Niger State when the accident took place on Tuesday, the state's emergency agency said.

Thirty-six dead bodies have now been found and 150 survivors rescued, spokesman Ibrahim Audu Husseini told AFP.

"We have recovered 20 more bodies today. This brings to 36 the number of bodies recovered from the river."

There was "no possibility" of finding others alive, he said. "There is no way one can survive three days underwater. The work now is to recover all the missing bodies." The agency did not specify the cause of the sinking in Gbajibo community, near Mokwa, but said it took place after dark at around 8:30 pm (1930 GMT).