Nigerian state govt says 37 suspected illegal miners died in custody

The government of a central Nigerian state said 37 people suspected of being illegal miners died early Thursday while in the custody of the country's civil defence in his central Niger state.

"This morning we woke up to the news that about 37 persons died in the custody of the civil defence here in Minna," Niger state Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago told reporters at a news conference in the state capital broadcast by Nigeria's TVC News television.

"It's so sad, it's so tragic."