More than 100 dead after wedding party as boat capsizes in Nigeria

More than 100 people are now confirmed dead after a boat ferrying hundreds of wedding guests overturned Monday in the river Niger around north-central Nigeria, local police said.

More than 100 people are now confirmed dead after a boat ferrying hundreds of wedding guests overturned Monday in the river Niger around north-central Nigeria, local police said.

The vessel was carrying around 250 passengers traveling back to Patigi in northcentral Kwara State after attending a wedding party in Gboti, in neighboring Niger State, when it sank early Monday, killing 106 on board, according to police.

Around 144 people were rescued, police said.

“On leaving the shore, one part of the boat by the engine side collapsed where water penetrated the boat, which ultimately led to the boat capsizing,” police spokesman in Kwara, Ajayi Okasanmi, said in a statement made available to CNN Wednesday.

Boat accidents are common in northern Nigeria. Last month, at least 15 people died after a boat capsized in northwestern Sokoto State, authorities told CNN.