A boat carrying 32 passengers has capsized in a creek in the southern Nigerian state of Akwa-Ibom, killing 17 people on board, including children and women, a Nigerian daily reported Tuesday.

An eyewitness said the victims were returning from Iko town in the state after a week-long church ceremony, according to The Punch newspaper.

Charles Mbong, head of the council for Eastern Obolo local government, where Iko is located, blamed the accident at the weekend on the narrowness and shallowness of the creeks in the area making navigation difficult.

He called on the government to, as a matter of urgency, embark on the dredging and canalization of the creeks.

Overloading and poor maintenance of the vessels are usually thecause of frequent accidents in Nigeria's waterways and roads.

Source: Xinhua