At least 111 people dead in Nigeria after floods submerge market town
The floods were triggered by torrential rains that lasted several hours
At least 111 people confirmed dead after floods submerged Mokwa, a market town in Nigeria’s Niger State, on Thursday, an official said.
The heavy rains lasted for several hours on Thursday, and media reports quoting local government officials said a dam collapse in a nearby town had worsened the situation. The flooding displaced large amounts of people, the reports said.
Rescuers continued to find more bodies into the afternoon Friday. Earlier reports said 88 people had died, but then at least 23 more bodies were found, Niger State emergency agency spokesman IIbrahim Audu Husseinit told The Associated Press in the afternoon.
That brought the toll to 111, but that could go higher as the search continued.
“More bodies have just been brought and are yet to be counted, but we have at least 111 confirmed already,” Husseini told AP by telephone.
Mokwa, about 220km (140 miles) west of Abuja, is a major meeting point where traders from the south buy food from growers in the north.