At least 60 people were killed after a boat carrying mostly women and children returning from a religious festival in Nigeria's northern Niger state capsized this week, a local official said.

At least 60 people drowned on Tuesday when a boat carrying hundreds of mostly women and children capsized on the Niger River in Nigeria, a spokesman for the local government said. At least 80 people were still missing by Wednesday as rescue workers scrambled to find more survivors.

Dozens of people are feared dead after a boat capsized in north-central Nigeria. The boat was ferrying more than 300 passengers on the River Niger when it overturned on Tuesday night, said Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) head Abdullahi Baba Arah.

The incident occurred on Monday night along the Niger River, as the overloaded vessel was returning from a religious festival. The boat was designed to hold only 100 passengers but was carrying approximately 300 people when it overturned in the Mokwa district of Niger state,

About 300 passengers on the boat from the Mundi community had attended a religious celebration in nearby Gbajibo village Tuesday night when the boat capsized. Officials say about 150 passengers were rescued,