At least 27 dead, over 100 missing in Nigeria boat tragedy

At least 27 people died and more than 100, mostly women, were missing on Friday, after a boat transporting them to a food market capsized along the River Niger in northern Nigeria, authorities said.

About 200 passengers were on the boat that was going from the state of Kogi to neighbouring state of Niger when it capsized, the Niger State Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ibrahim Audu told The Associated Press.

Rescuers managed to pull 27 bodies from the river by Friday evening while local divers were still searching for others, according to Sandra Musa, spokeswoman for the Kogi state emergency services.