LAGOS, Aug  10, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - At least 20 people died in a boat accident
in southern Nigeria earlier this week, the country's emergency agency and
police said on Saturday.

  Emergency workers have recovered 11 "burnt" bodies and are still searching
for others, an official of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told
AFP.

  "The boat was a big ferry carrying over 100 people who are market
merchants," said Adebiyi Babatunde Razaq from NEMA, noting that the accident
occurred in the "early hours of Wednesday".

   Nigeria's waterways authority said in a statement that the accident was
caused by an "engine default explosion".

  Although there has been no formal announcement about the cause of the
accident, the state governor Duoye Diri has called for strict observation of
safety regulations.

  "The news is even more disturbing that the accident has claimed some lives
and injured many hardworking and resilient traders who were out fending for
themselves and their loved ones," Diri said in a statement on X.

 Travel by boat is popular in Nigeria, especially in the coastal Niger Delta
region.

 The accident in the coastal southern Ijaw of Bayelsa State marks the latest
boat tragedy in the country, where capsizes often occur due to overloading,
poor safety and heavy flooding.

 At least nine people, including five children, died after the boat in which
they were travelling was hit by high waves in Andoni, in neighbouring Rivers
state in January.  
 
 At least 24 farmers died after a boat capsized in north-central Nigeria
last September.