At least 20 killed as boat explodes on Nigeria river, police say

By Tife Owolabi

YENAGOA (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed when a wooden boat caught fire and exploded on a river in Nigeria's coastal state of Bayelsa on Wednesday, a police spokesperson said.

The boat was carrying traders taking goods to coastal communities, Bayelsa police spokesperson Musa Muhammed said on Thursday.

Traders make weekly trips between coastal settlements and the state capital Yenagoa.

At least 200 people were reported killed in boat accidents in Nigeria last year, with authorities regularly blaming overcrowding and poor maintenance.

(Reporting by Tife Owolabi in Yenagoa; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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