30 dead after boat capsizes in Nigeria

Thirty people drowned when an overloaded boat capsized in central Nigeria's Niger state, an emergency official told AFP yesterday.

The boat, carrying 100 local traders, split in two after smashing into a stump during high winds on its return from a market on Saturday, said Ibrahim Audu Hussein, spokesman for the state's emergency agency.

The accident occurred at Tijana village in Munya district. "So far 30 bodies have been recovered and five are still missing," Hussein said. "Sixty-five passengers were rescued with the help of local divers."

Heavy rains were hampering the search but divers were "braving the odds," Hussein said.