About 33 persons, part of whom were women and children, have reportedly drowned after a boat carrying over 50 passengers capsized on River Kaduna near Niger State.

The incident happened on Friday night between Danchitagi village in Lavun and Gbara, Mokwa Local Government Areas of Niger State.

Sources said some of the passengers were returning from a weekly Danchitagi market while others had earlier attended a wedding ceremony and returning home.

Goods worth millions of naira were also reportedly lost in the process.

Villagers told Daily Trust that 17 out of over 50 persons in the boat had at the time of the report been rescued.

“For now, out of over 50 passengers in that boat, only 17 people have been rescued alive. We believe the rest are no more alive because they have been in the water for several hours. The water level is also high now because of rainfall. We are still doing our best to look for the remaining people. But the chance of their survival is not assured,” One of the local divers said.

The victims were mostly said to be from the riverine communities of Muregi, Gbara, Gazhe, Tadima among others. Some of the rescued victims were taken to Gbara rural hospital for medical attention.

Confirming the incident, the Director General, Niger State Emergency Management Agency, Ahmed Ibrahim Inga said he could not give details of casualties.