World · Nigeria boat crashOverloaded Canoe Flips in Nigeria Killing 50 Mostly Children on Farm CrossingAired August 22, 2026 at 7:09 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Around 40 children drowned on a short0:02farm ferry that was never meant to hold0:04them. More than 80 farmers, hired0:06laborers, traders, and children were0:08crammed onto a wooden canoe built for 200:10to 30. At least 50 are dead turning a0:12daily water commute into one of0:14Nigeria's deadliest inland losses this0:16year. How did a routine 08:00 farm0:19crossing collapse so completely? How0:21many are still unaccounted and will0:23anything change on the water that0:24villages still have to cross? That0:26number is the anchor. [music] More than0:2880 were aboard when the hull went over.0:30At least 50 bodies have been pulled from0:32the water and prepared for burial.0:34Around [music] 40 of the dead in the0:35first recovery were children, most0:37between 10 and 15 working as farm0:39laborers or going [music] with parents0:41to the fields. The run is short and0:43routine. The canoe left Goronyo town in0:46Goronyo local government area, Sokoto0:48state in the northwest, to cross the0:50Goronyo River waterway of the Sokoto0:52Rima system [music] toward rice farms at0:54Birjingo near the Goronyo Dam. It left0:57shortly after 08:00 to 08:30 [music] and0:59capsized minutes later. The name is1:01recorded only generically as a river or1:03waterway near Goronyo.1:05>> [music]1:05>> No separate formal river name beyond the1:07Goronyo linkage has been confirmed. The1:09channel was flooded and unstable in1:11rainy season high water. A slight wind1:13was enough to destabilize the overloaded1:15hull.1:15One account describes a leak developing1:17right after departure.1:18>> [music]1:18>> The passengers had reportedly ignored1:20warnings against overcrowding, piled1:22beyond capacity with some similar1:24crossings also loading motorcycles and1:26goods. No life jackets or flotation1:28devices were in use. The math shows why1:30the toll keeps moving. An early1:32accounting summed 46 [music] dead plus1:34seven rescued plus 24 missing to 77.1:37Later counts lifted rescued to 11 and1:39then to 15 [music] or 16.1:41Later recovery lifted dead to 52 and1:43then 56. The missing figure has not been1:46reconciled because some initially listed1:48[music] as missing have since been1:49recovered as dead. The number injured1:51has not been detailed. The focus has1:53been on drownings and near drowning1:54rescues. [music] Women are among the1:55dead including a pregnant woman and a1:57mother with a baby. One household lost2:0011 [music] members. A village and2:02community head was aboard and was among2:04those rescued in some accounts. Bodies2:06were [music] taken to the community2:07mosque in Goronyo, wrapped in mats and2:09traditional cloths, and buried quickly2:11as families identified them. Local2:14divers and residents pulled survivors2:15and bodies from the water [music] before2:17the formal teams arrived. The search ran2:19through 21 and 26 of August. Sokoto2:22State Police, the National Inland2:24Waterways Authority area management, the2:26[music] National Emergency Management2:27Agency team deployed under its Director2:28General with the Sokoto operations lead2:30and the State Emergency Management2:31[music] Agency coordinated recovery,2:34family identification and contact with2:35bereaved households. Insecurity from2:37banditry around Goronyo has forced2:39heavier reliance on water routes and2:41[music] with poor roads left no2:43practical alternative to the crossing.2:45The Goronyo loss sits inside a national2:47pattern that has not bent. Compiled2:49media and agency counts put about 2532:51[music]2:52to more than 300 dead in 2023 and about2:55231 to 326 in 2024.2:58Partial tallies for 2025 diverge at3:01about 92 from January to August in one3:03count and about 146 from January to3:05October in another. Compilations put3:08about 857 deaths from 2023 to October3:1120253:12>> [music]3:12>> and about 972 from 2022 to 2025,3:16averaging more than one fatal incident3:18every 3 weeks or [music] more than 263:20deaths per month. At least 235 deaths3:22came in 10 major accidents from January3:24to 2025 to July 2026 across eight3:27states. [music] Niger and Kwara have3:29borne the largest single events,3:30including the 2023 Kwara wedding related3:32loss of more than 100 and the Niger3:34Gbajibo losses. Lagos has cut incidents3:37through stricter enforcement. The same3:39Goronyo area saw a capsizing in August3:412025 near Kojio tied to a market3:43crossing with dozens [music] feared. The3:44drivers repeat, chronic overloading,3:47near total absence of life jackets,3:49unseaworthy [music]3:49wooden hulls, weak enforcement of3:52inspection and safety rules,3:53>> [music]3:53>> seasonal flooding, and travel at night3:56or in bad weather, with operator3:57training gaps and under-resourced3:59regulation.4:00The accounting is still open. The formal4:02cause finding beyond overloading and4:04weather has not been issued.4:05>> [music]4:06>> The exact river naming and coordinates4:07have not been fixed beyond the Goronyo4:09waterway linkage, and no comprehensive4:11final federal casualty confirmation or4:13new [music] national safety enforcement4:14announcement beyond the recovery4:16deployment had been detailed as of 22nd4:18[music] August. While family4:19identification continued, villages that4:21depend on the Gorau to Birjingo ferry4:24still face the same [music] flooded4:25waterway with the same overloaded wooden4:28canoes.4:29Like and follow for more stories that4:31matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗