130 drown in river accident

Lagos - At least 130 people drowned on Monday in the Niger river delta on the southern Nigerian coast when a passenger ferry collided with a string of barges, press reports said yesterday. The MV Olodiama, carrying passengers from Port Harcourt to Olodiama, rammed the convoy of cargo boats at the mouth of the Nembe river, which flows into the Niger, the Daily Times said. Sixteen people survived the collision.