Officials have confirmed that at least 47 people died after a boat capsized in a river in Sokoto State on Thursday.

The boat was reportedly carrying residents travelling to farms in Gorau town, located in the Goronyo Local Government Area of the state, when the accident occurred.

Abdulkadir Yusuf, the Sokoto State Manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), confirmed that the death toll had risen to 47 “so far.”

A 55-year-old resident, Samaila Garba, said his 13-year-old granddaughter, Jamila Usman, was among those who lost their lives in the incident.

Garba said he personally counted at least 42 bodies recovered from the river, noting that most of the victims were women and children.

He explained that during the rainy season, many women and children in the community travel to farms to work, making the waterway an important means of transportation.

Another resident, Aminu Dan Hajiya, said he regularly uses the same waterway to access his farm and considered himself fortunate not to have been aboard the ill-fated boat.

He added that the tragedy had affected almost every household in the community, as residents continued to mourn the victims.