Kano — Ten teenage girls drowned while travelling by canoe to a wedding in Taraba, a region hit by severe seasonal flooding, Red Cross said, yesterday.

Three others, who were in the canoe that capsized on the Karim River, are still missing, said the head of the Red Cross in Taraba State, Manja Agwe Mathew.

He said: "The bodies of 10 passengers in the canoe were recovered by local fishermen, while search for the remaining three is still on."

He added that the accident occurred, late Tuesday, while the group was travelling "to a wedding ceremony in another village across the river."

On Monday, the Red Cross said at least 137 people in Nigeria have died since July from flood-related incidents. Water levels have surged on the River Benue, which feeds the Karim, causing at least 30 deaths.

Officials have urged thousands of people in the south and centre of the country, who live on the plains of the River Niger, to evacuate their homes, fearing it will overflow.