25 die in Jigawa, Bayelsa boat mishap
At least 25 persons have died in separate boat accident in Jigawa and Bayelsa states. Report from Taura Local Government Area of Jigawa State say a boat carrying passengers crossing the Gamoda River at Nahuce village yesterday capsized, killing five people with 15 others missing.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Jigawa State Command, DSP Lawan Shiisu Adam, who confirmed the incident in a statement issued to newsmen, said the mishap happened yesterday.
“Information from a reliable source revealed that a canoe conveying twenty passengers to cross over Gamoda river at Nahuce village in Taura LGA capsized, five people died while the remaining passengers still missing.
“Upon receipt of the report, a team of Policemen in collaboration with local divers and good Samaritans raced to the scene for a rescue mission.
“Five of the passengers were dead. Namely; Abdurra’uf Mohd 15 years, Suleman Ali, 20, Shafiu Mohd 25, Ado Nafance, 75 and Alasan Mohd, 16, all of Taura LGA,” he explained.
Similarly, at least 20 people have been reportedly burnt to death as the engine of a wooden market boat popularly known as ‘Denghe market boat’ exploded along Ezetu Community River in the Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa State.
It was learnt that the incident occurred on Wednesday evening.
The police spokesman in Bayelsa State, ASP Musa Muhammed, who confirmed the incident to Daily Trust on Thursday, said rescue operations were on to recover the drowned passengers.
He said: “The local boat travelling from Ekeni community in Southern Ijaw to Yenagoa had an accident and sank. About 20 persons were reported to have lost their lives. Efforts are ongoing to recover their corpses.”
According to a community source, the unfortunate incident occurred around 4:30pm on Wednesday when the boat conveying passengers and market women was gutted by fire en route from Ezetu Community.
The Chairman of Maritime Workers Union in Bayelsa State, Mr Ipgansi Ogoniba, who also confirmed the boat accident, said it caught fire in the middle of the river while it was sailing to Okubie community and burnt some of the passengers onboard.
The number of casualties could not be ascertained at the time of filing the report as the search and rescue operation was ongoing.
Ogoniba said the rescue team from the union that went to the scene recovered one corpse late on Wednesday evening.
The chairperson of the Association of Coastal and Waterways Communities of Nigeria in Bayelsa State, Comrade Odede Dinikpete Tina, ascribed the high casualty figures to the failure of the boat operators in the state to abide by safety protocols especially wearing life jackets while onboard.
She pleaded with the state government to intensify efforts in linking more coastal communities by road in order to curb incessant loss of lives, adding that despite several sensitization programmes the association had carried out on safety protocols, people travelling on waterways still refused to wear life jackets.
Meanwhile, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has directed the relevant ministries in the state to immediately join the rescue efforts at the scene of the boat mishap at Ezetu 1 community river.
The governor, who expressed sadness over the cargo boat accident, said investigation would be conducted into the cause of the accident and urged boat operators to always observe safety procedures on the state’s waterways.