13 die as boat capsizes on Niger River

At least 13 people have died following the sinking of a small boat on the Niger River, which serves as a natural boundary between Niger and Benin, local sources confirmed on Thursday.

Although Niger’s military government closed its land border with Benin nearly two years ago over accusations that Benin was attempting to destabilize the country—an allegation Cotonou denies—residents on both sides have continued to use the river for daily transport of people and goods.

“There were 13 killed and some survivors,” a resident of Gaya, a Nigerien town bordering Benin, told AFP, referring to the boat’s capsizing on Wednesday. According to local media reporting the same casualty figure, a rescue effort was ongoing.

“The pirogue (small boat) was carrying essentially Nigeriens. It overturned between Gaya in Niger and the town of Malanville (in Benin),” another resident of Gaya told AFP. The source estimated “around 10 dead.”

The exact cause of the accident remains unknown. However, similar tragedies have occurred on the Niger River, where pirogues—small wooden canoes—are commonly used for transportation and often exceed safe capacity limits.

In one such incident in August 2023, two out of six passengers died when a pirogue sank. In an earlier case in February 2019, at least 43 people, including several children, drowned when an overloaded boat carrying grain and traders capsized.