Thirty passengers were rescued from the river.

At least five passengers were killed on Sunday when a boat capsized in Anambra State, Nigeria's south-east.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that about 30 of the passengers were rescued after the accident.

The incident happened at about 7 a.m. at River Niger near Onitsha in the state, this newspaper gathered.

The passengers were said to be coming from Kogi State, north-central Nigeria.

Although the identities of the victims could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report, sources told this newspaper that the victims were mainly women and children.

When contacted, the police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Ikenga, a deputy superintendent of police, said bodies of the five passengers have been recovered from the river.

The spokesperson said marine police operatives in Anambra responded to the incident when they received a distress call.

"We were able to rescue over 30 of the passengers alive and recovered the five bodies in the depths of the sea and the capsized boat," he said.

"Meanwhile, the cause (of the incident) is yet to be ascertained as investigation is ongoing," Mr Ikenga added.

Not the first time

This is not the first time a boat would capsize in Anambra State.

In October 2022, many passengers were killed in a boat mishap in Umunnankwo Community, Ogbaru Local Government Area of the state.

The passengers were said to have attempted to escape from their flooded communities at the time.

About 85 persons were initially reported killed in the incident, but an official would later put the figure at about 30.

Boats are the only means of transportation in many riverine communities in the South-eastern state.