Scores of people are feared dead in Kebbi state after a boat carrying about 180 passengers broke in two and sank, officials say.

Most passengers were women and children travelling from neighhouring Niger to Kebbi.

Abdullahi Buhari Wara, chairman of Ngaski LGA where the incident occurred blamed the accident on overloading, as the boat was meant to carry not more than 80 passengers. Ngaski lies along the shores of the Kainji lake.

The boat was also loaded with bags of sand from a gold mine, he said.

Qasimu Umar Wara, a resident of Wara, the headquarters of Ngaski, said locals expected more bodies to wash to shore in the coming days.

He said most of the passengers were returning from a newly-discovered gold vein in in Borgu Local Government Area of neighboring Niger state. The Wara resident said most of the people who take the boat travel in the evening and return in the mornings. The mishap happened just a few hours into their trip.

"Most of them are petty traders, food vendors and the local miners," he added.

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) through its Area Manager in Kebbi State, Mr Yusuf Birma, confirmed the incident adding that it was caused by the overloading of a weak boat.

He confirmed that four people had been confirmed dead, 20 rescued alive while 156 people were still missing and that rescue operation was still ongoing.

“The boat was transporting about 180 passengers, 30 motorcycles as well as sand and other sundry items.

“We are still rescuing the victims and the mishap occurred as a result of overloading. The boat does not have the capacity to carry 180 passengers. 156 people are still missing and they are believed to be underwater,” he said

Boats capsizes regularly occur in Nigerian waters because of overcrowding and a lack of maintenance, especially during the annual rainy season.

Earlier this month 30 people drowned when an overloaded boat broke apart in central Niger. The boat broke in two after hitting a stump during a storm, according to emergency officials.