At least 28 people have died after a boat carrying mostly women and children capsized in Nigeria, with dozens believed to be missing.

The boat, which had more than 100 villagers on board, was travelling to farmlands in Niger state, around 156 miles (250km) from the nearest emergency service.

Because of its remote location, it took several hours for responders to reach the scene in the Niger River on Sunday, although 30 people have been rescued.

Villagers have been asked to watch out for bodies floating in the river as at least 40 passengers remain missing, according to Niger State Emergency Management Agency spokesman Ibrahim Audu.

Niger governor Mohammed Umaru Bago described the accident as “shocking and sorrowful”.

It is still not clear what caused the accident, but emergency services say it could be because of overloading, a hindrance to the boat’s movement or the vessel’s condition.

The number killed stood at 26 on Sunday, but rose after more bodies were found in the water on Monday morning.

Sunday’s incident marked the second such major accident in the region in three months.

Read more on Sky News:
Ethiopia hails new phase in disputed Blue Nile dam project
Inside Amizmiz, the tourist town ‘ripped apart’ and ‘expecting 2,000 dead’

In July, more than 100 people died when an overloaded boat capsized in a remote part of Niger state in what was one of the worst such disasters in recent years.

Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and a number of remote communities have no access to good roads, meaning river travel is the only way to get around.

Related posts:

Russian trials show Sputnik V vaccine performs well against COVID variants Wildfires and deaths across southeast Europe amid most severe heatwave in decades Tourists evacuated by boat from holiday resort as Turkey wildfires burn Super trawler spills 100,000 dead fish off French coast Two more hospitals hit by Russian airstrikes in Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr Dozens of bodies wrapped in bags or carpet buried in Mariupol mass grave as Russian shelling continues Ukraine put forward for EU membership Russian pipeline resumes pumping gas to Europe after 10-day shutdown Mother whose daughter’s burns inspired idea among Prince William’s Earthshot Prize finalists People in Taiwan rush to buy badge of Winnie the Pooh being punched Another Russian tanker hit by sea drone near Crimean Bridge, Moscow says Game4Ukraine was about much more than football as Arsenal star hails ‘powerful message sent to world’