Diri mourns as five die in Bayelsa boat accident

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Diri mourns as five die in Bayelsa boat accident

At least five people have been confirmed killed in a boat accident in Okoroma community along the waterways in the Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The boat was said to be carrying scores of passengers and goods worth millions of naira from Yenagoa to Okpoama and neighbouring communities in Brass when it suddenly went under reportedly due to overloading last Thursday.

Three corpses were initially recovered but the police spokesman in Bayelsa, SP Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the accident, said the casualty figure had yet to be ascertained.

Governor Douye Diri, while expressing sadness over the fatal incident, on Saturday, directed the search and rescue of the victims.

The directive to relevant government agencies, including security agencies, was contained in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Amanda.

Diri added that the government would review the cause of such incidents to take steps to ensure the safety of lives and goods on the state’s waterways.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Bayelsa chapter of the Maritime Workers Union, Mr Ipigansi Ogoniba, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the total of victims had yet to be ascertained as rescue efforts entered the second day.

He said preliminary investigations showed that the cargo boat, MV Tari, had at least 100 passengers on board when the accident occurred, but some of the passengers swam to safety.

NAN quoted Ogoniba as saying, “The local boats are designed for heavy cargo and not for passengers, but people smuggle themselves into these boats and pay very little fares to operators.

“Unfortunately, the regulation on the use of safety jackets is weak. The boats are not primarily meant for passengers; there is no manifest to ascertain the exact number of passengers on board.

“The captain of the boat estimated that about 100 passengers were on board and we found that the load it carried was not balanced. The practice is to put a heavy load in the lower compartment and the lighter ones on top.

“We learnt that the operator did not follow this rule and made the boat vulnerable to high or turbulent waves.”