At least seven persons have been declared missing after a canoe capsized in a river in Zamfara State.

According to The Daily Trust, the canoe was paddled by an amateur and was also overloaded.

Victims were said to be returning from the farm after they were ferried earlier in the day and were in the middle of the river when the canoe capsized.

The senior district head of Gummi emirate, Alhaji Bala Abubakar Gamo, said search for the survivors is being intensified.

The state government had already directed the state Management Agency to join the rescue effort.