Nine girls die in Nigeria boat capsize: official

Kano: Nine teenage girls died and three were listed missing after a passenger boat capsized on a river in northern Nigeria, an emergency services official said on Wednesday.

"We have recovered nine bodies of the girls and we are still searching for the remaining three," Usman Ado of Kano
State Emergency Service Agency told AFP.

He said the boat was ferrying the girls, aged between eight and 14, across the river to the market on Monday when it capsized and sank following a rainstorm.

He said the operator of the boat swam to safety but had been unable to save any of the girls in the turbulent water.

Boat accidents in Nigeria occur frequently and are often caused by overloading, poor vessel maintainance, speeding and poor lighting.