Nigeria, Jan. 21 -- At least six students are feared dead after a wooden boat capsized on Monday night at the Buruku crossing in Benue State, a waterway long associated with fatal accidents.

PUNCH first reported the incident, citing local sources who said the students were returning to school when the overloaded boat overturned in the Buruku River, in Buruku Local Government Area.

A maritime worker who witnessed the incident told journalists that the passengers had waited for hours after politicians returning from a thanksgiving service in neighbouring Logo Local Government Area were ferried across first.

"Nightfall caught up with the remaining passengers, and the boat eventually departed with a large number of people onboard," the wit...