The death toll from Saturday’s boat tragedy in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State has risen to 13, with many passengers still unaccounted for, according to emergency officials.

The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Abdullahi Baba Arah, confirmed the development during a press briefing in Minna on Sunday.

“So far, we have been able to recover 13 corpses while the search for other passengers is still ongoing,” Arah stated.

The ill-fated boat, which was overloaded with traders and goods, capsized around 11:45 a.m. along Kwata village, as passengers were en route to the Zumba weekly market.

Although the boat operator and a few passengers were rescued immediately after the incident, several others remain missing. One survivor who was admitted to the General Hospital in Kuta has since been treated and discharged.

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Local divers, volunteers, and community members continue frantic search and recovery operations, hoping to find more victims, dead or alive.

While the exact cause of the accident is still under investigation, authorities suspect that overloading and poor safety compliance, especially on market days, may have contributed to the tragedy.

“We are yet to determine the remote cause of the mishap, but we will get the details later,” Arah added.

This latest incident underscores long-standing concerns about the neglect of safety guidelines in rural water transportation. Despite repeated efforts by the state government, N-HYPPADEC, and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to distribute life jackets, enforcement has been weak, and compliance remains low among boat operators.

Residents and advocacy groups have renewed calls for stricter regulation and enforcement to prevent further avoidable deaths in the region.