At least 46 people are confirmed dead after a boat carrying 77 passengers capsized in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, according to police. The incident occurred on August 20, with rescue operations still underway as of Thursday.
Police Confirm Casualties and Rescue Efforts
The Sokoto State Police Command spokesperson, Ahmad Rufai, confirmed the figures, stating that seven passengers were rescued alive and 24 remained missing. “There were 77 passengers moving from Gorau to Birjingo. Seven rescued alive and 46 recovered dead, while 24 declared missing. Search is still on,” Rufai said.
The boat was travelling from Gorau to Birjingo when it capsized, according to the police. The cause of the accident had not been established as of Thursday, and discrepancies in casualty numbers across different accounts could not be immediately resolved.
Conflicting Figures Emerge from Officials and Witnesses
Casualty numbers varied widely across different accounts of the disaster. A Reuters correspondent reported seeing 50 bodies, many already wrapped for burial, at a community mosque in Gorau. The news agency quoted Nasiru Adamu, a member of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, as saying 16 passengers had been rescued, while a resident, Sharhabilu Kiliya, put the death toll at 53.
The Associated Press cited Abdulkadir Yusuf, the Sokoto State manager of the National Inland Waterways Authority, who gave a figure of 47 dead. Estimates of the total number of passengers also differed across official and community sources.
Second Major Boat Tragedy in Goronyo in 12 Months
The incident is the second major boat tragedy to hit Goronyo Local Government Area in roughly 12 months. On August 17, 2025, a canoe carrying more than 50 passengers capsized near Kojiyo village while heading to Goronyo Market.
The National Emergency Management Agency coordinated a multi-agency response involving the Sokoto State Emergency Management Agency, the National Inland Waterways Authority, Goronyo Local Government Council and local divers. Following that search operation, the Sokoto State Government said four passengers died, 41 were rescued and five remained missing.
The government added that it had procured 20 motorised boats and life jackets for distribution to riverine communities, with two of those boats allocated specifically to Goronyo Local Government Area. The back-to-back accidents in the same area raise fresh questions about water transport safety in communities where residents rely on boats to reach farms, markets and neighbouring settlements.
Regional Context: Ferry Disaster in Zimbabwe
In a separate incident, Zimbabwe police said on Saturday that the death toll from a ferry disaster on Lake Kariba had climbed to 72, after rescuers pulled 26 additional bodies from the water in the days following the vessel's capsizing. The ferry went down on Tuesday amid strong waves while carrying passengers from the town of Kariba towards remote rural and fishing settlements in the country's northwest.
Search and rescue operations in Sokoto State continued, with authorities working to account for the 24 missing passengers. The final death toll may change as operations progress, and the cause of the accident remains under investigation.
