26 women and children die as boat capsizes in Sokoto

Twenty six persons have been confirmed dead following a boat mishap on Shagari river in Shagari local government area of Sokoto state.

Chairman of Shagari Council area, Aliyu Dantani, who disclosed  the accident to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday April 13, in Sokoto, said the incident occurred on Tuesday evening, April 12.

Dantani said of the 26 recovered corpses, 21 were women while five were children, adding that a search and rescue mission was ongoing.

The council boss, however, said the actual number of passengers in the boat could not be immediately ascertained.

According to him, local divers were currently in the river to see how to either recover bodies or rescue survivors