No fewer than five people have been confirmed dead in at Okoroma community along the Brass waterways in Brass 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.
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A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Daniel Alabrah quoted Diri as
deeply saddened by the fatal incident.
According to him, “Governor Diri has directed the relevant government agencies, including security agencies, to collaborate in the search-and-rescue efforts and ensure the recovery of all missing persons.
“The governor sympathised with injured victims and the families that lost persons in the sad incident.
“He prayed that God will grant succour over the unfortunate mishap.”
The government, he added, would review the cause of such incidents in order to take steps to ensure 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.
Ogoniba was quoted 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.”
