Amman, Aug. 20 (Petra)-- At least 51 people, mostly women and children, were killed today after a boat capsized in a river in Nigeria’s northwestern Sokoto State.

Local authorities confirmed the incident, which reports attributed to the operation of boats under unsafe conditions and overloading.

Abdulqader Yusuf, director of the National Inland Waterways Authority in Sokoto State, confirmed the accident. Media reports said the boat was carrying people traveling to farms for work in Gurawo town, in the Goronyo administrative area of Sokoto State.

Boat accidents involving fatalities are common in Nigeria, where vessels often operate under unsafe conditions.

//Petra// MF