ABUJA, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- At least 25 people died, and 14 others are still missing after a boat carrying mostly local fishermen and farmers capsized along the Yobe River in Nigeria's northern region, emergency services and police said on Sunday.
Mohammed Goje, head of the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement that 13 other passengers were rescued after the boat capsized in Garbi town in the Nguru Local Government Area on Saturday evening.
The wooden boat overturned mid-journey en route to the northern state of Yobe from Adiyani, a neighboring town in the northwestern state of Jigawa, said Goje, who confirmed that emergency responders and local community volunteers had swung into action to rescue the victims.
Lawan Shiisu, the spokesman for the police in Jigawa, told Xinhua by phone on Sunday that at least 52 people were on the "overloaded boat" when it departed from Adiyani village on Saturday evening.
Shiisu said the initial death toll was 14, but the casualty figure increased during the rescue operation. The police have launched an investigation into the cause of the incident, he added.
Boat accidents, often caused by overloading, adverse weather and operational errors, are common in Nigeria. ■
