The death toll from the boat mishap in Yobe State has risen to 29, with about 10 passengers still missing, authorities have confirmed.

The Executive Secretary of the Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (YOSEMA), Dr Mohammad Goje, disclosed this in a statement issued in Damaturu on Monday. He said four additional bodies were recovered from the river, bringing the confirmed fatalities to 29.

According to Goje, search and rescue operations are ongoing as between eight and ten passengers are yet to be accounted for. He added that 13 injured passengers were treated and subsequently discharged from a local hospital.

Preliminary findings, Goje said, indicated that overloading and structural defects in the boat were among the major causes of the accident.

Following the incident, Governor Mai Mala Buni directed YOSEMA to liaise with relevant Federal Government agencies to strengthen safety measures in water transportation across the state.

Goje said the collaboration would enable better regulation and policing of water transport, including the enforcement of life jacket use.

“Once this is achieved, you can ensure that those who will board a canoe must wear life jackets, and that should be institutionalised,” he said.

The ill-fated boat departed from Adiyani in neighbouring Jigawa State and capsized along the Yobe River in Garbi town at about 7:48 p.m. on Saturday.

More than 50 passengers, mostly farmers and traders, were believed to have been on board the boat when the incident occurred in the area, located over 230 kilometres from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.