The death toll in the boat accident in North Central Nigeria has risen to 28, emergency services said on Monday, as local communities mobilised in support of an intensified search for dozens still missing.

The boat ferrying more than 100 passengers, mostly women and children, capsized along the Niger River on Sunday morning. They were travelling to their farmlands in the Gbajibo community, located 251km (156 miles) from Minna, the capital of Niger state, the closest source of emergency response.

It took several hours before help could reach the community in Mokwa district because of its remote location, and villagers nearby were on the lookout for bodies floating on the river, Niger State Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Ibrahim Audu told The Associated Press news agency.

Divers recovered four more bodies from the river by Monday morning with at least 40 passengers believed to be still missing, Audu said. Thirty had been rescued.