Kebbi boat disaster

2021 Nigeria boat accident

Date	26 May 2021
Time	8:15 am
Location	Niger River near Warrah, Nigeria
Coordinates	10°12′N 4°33′E / 10.2°N 4.55°E / 10.2; 4.55
Type	Shipwreck
Cause	Collision with object
Participants	Crew and passengers (150[citation needed])
Deaths	98 bodies found, others remained missing

On 26 May 2021, an overloaded and overcrowded vessel carrying at least 160 passengers broke into two and sank after hitting an object in the Nigerian part of the Niger River.^[1][2][3] The boat was travelling between Niger State and Wara in Kebbi State when it sank. The incident left at least 98 dead.^[4]

Background

Nigerian waterways have become increasingly dangerous in recent years, with various organizations estimating that between 150 and 350 deaths occurred in 2020 alone.^[5] In May 2021, 30 people died when a boat carrying 100 passengers hit a stump and broke in two in Niger State. In July 2020, another boat sank in Benue State with nearly 30 people on board, and seven people died when a boat sank amidst heavy rain near Lagos, followed by eight deaths in a separate boat incident a month later.^[5]

Accident

On 26 May 2021, an overloaded boat carrying between 150 and 200 passengers departed from the village of Lokon Minna in central Niger State to a market in Warrah in Kebbi State on the other side of the Niger River. Between 8:15 am and 8:20 am, the boat struck an object in the river, which caused it to quickly break into two pieces and sink. Most of the passengers on board the boat were women and children who were travelling to Warrah to sell food at a market, as well as some miners.^{[1][2][6][7][8]}

The boat had picked up passengers at unregulated locations along the river as opposed to an official jetty, likely in order to evade taxes, and because of this the true number of passengers on board the boat was not known.^[2] The craft was an old wooden boat that had a capacity of between 80 and 150 passengers. In addition to the passengers, the boat was also carrying a cargo of sandbags from a gold mine.^[2][6][9]

Between 22 and 26 passengers were rescued shortly after the incident, followed by the recovery of 76 bodies. Marine Police, local fishermen, and divers were involved in the rescue and recovery operation. The remaining passengers were not found and were presumed dead.^{[5][6][9][10][11][12][13]}

Aftermath

Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari offered his condolences to the families of the victims.^[2][14]

Many Nigerian organizations donated funds for the families of the victims. The Nigerian Governors' Forum donated 50 million