At least 36 people have died and 100 more are feared dead after a boat reportedly carrying hundreds of mostly women and children capsized in north-central Nigeria, officials told AFP on Thursday.
Following the accident on the River Niger on Tuesday, some 150 of the roughly 300 passengers were rescued and there was now "no possibility" of finding others alive, emergency agency spokesman Ibrahim Audu Husseini told AFP.
On Wednesday the emergency agency for Niger State said the passengers were mostly women and children on their way to celebrate the Muslim festival Mawlid in Gbajibo Community, near Mokwa.
It did not specify the cause of the sinking. Boat accidents are common in Nigeria's poorly regulated waterways, particularly during the rainy season when rivers and lakes swell.
Niger State emergency agency spokesman Husseini said: "We have recovered 20 more bodies today. This brings to 36 the number of bodies recovered from the river. We brought out 16 bodies yesterday.
"There is no possibility of getting any survivors. All the missing are definitely dead by now. There is no way one can survive three days underwater. The work now is to recover all the missing bodies."
In a statement late on Thursday, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu expressed sympathy for the victims and called for an investigation into recent boat accidents.
Tuesday's sinking took place after dark and the president urged officials to make sure boat operators violating a ban on night sailing were brought to justice. He also thanked emergency workers and praised local divers for helping in the search.