ABUJA, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of a boat acciden in northern Nigeria's Yobe State has risen to 29 from 25, following the rescue operation on Monday, emergency services said.
Briefing media in Damaturu, the state capital, Mohammed Goje, head of the Yobe Emergency Management Agency, said that four additional bodies were recovered from the Yobe River by emergency responders and local community volunteers on Monday.
Goje said about eight to 10 more people are still missing, noting that the rescue operation has been intensified to rescue more victims.
The wooden boat carrying about 52 passengers, mostly local fishermen and farmers, capsized along the Yobe River on Saturday night, authorities said on Sunday.
The boat overturned mid-journey en route to Yobe from Adiyani, a neighboring town in Jigawa State.
Goje said that preliminary investigation has indicated "overloading and structural defect" as the major causes of the incident.
At least 13 people who were injured in the incident have been treated and discharged from a local hospital, he added.
