Nigeria boat accident leaves 15 children dead and 25 more missing

Kano, Nigeria — Fifteen children drowned and 25 others were left missing when a boat capsized in a river in northwest Nigeria’s Sokoto state, a local official told AFP Wednesday. The children were on their way to collect firewood in the bush on Tuesday on the other side of Shagari river when their overloaded boat capsized, Aliyu Abubakar, political administrator of Shagari district said.

“Fifteen bodies, 13 girls and two boys, were recovered by local rescue teams and buried in the village,” said Abubakar, who supervised the rescue operation.