TheNewsGuru

Tag: Boat Mishap

  • Sokoto: 2 dead, 9 rescued in fresh boat mishap

    Sokoto: 2 dead, 9 rescued in fresh boat mishap

    The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has confirmed another fatal boat mishap for the third time within this month at Jaranja river in Shagari local government area of Sokoto state.

    NIWA Area Manager in Sokoto, Mr Bala Bello, told NAN on Friday in Sokoto that two persons died, while nine survivors were rescued.

    Bello, who said the incident occured in the afternoon of Friday, attributed it to negligence, canoe overloading and safety rules violation.

    He explained that a rescue team that comprised officials from NIWA, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and Red Cross Society had been deployed to the scene.

    Bello said the team confirmed the casualty figures while search and rescue operations were ongoing to locate the missing persons.

    The Area Manager reiterated that NIWA had been engaging riverine communities on safety measures, guidelines, use of life jackets and other considerations on water usage.

    Recall that the Sokoto State Government confirmed the death of four passengers, 41 survivors and five  missing persons in a boat mishap on Aug. 17 at Kojiyo Village in Goronyo Local Government Area of the state.

    Another incident occured on Aug. 22, at Faji Community in Sabon Birni Local Government Area of the state, while the present incident was the third  within the month.

    Speaking at the scene, Malam Tukur Abubakar, the NEMA Head of Rescue and Rehabilitation, said search and rescue operations were ongoing in order to locate the missing person.

    A resident, Malam Abubakar Jabbi from La told NAN that 9 persons were rescued by local divers, one body recovered while a female body among the boat passengers is still missing.

  • 26 rescued, 25 missing in Sokoto Boat Mishap – NEMA

    26 rescued, 25 missing in Sokoto Boat Mishap – NEMA

    The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has confirmed the rescue of 26 persons in the boat mishap that occurred in Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, while search for the 25 missing passengers was still ongoing.

    The Head of NEMA’s Sokoto Operations Office, Mr Aliyu Kafindangi, disclosed this to newsmen on Monday while leading the search team.

    Kafindangi said that the incident occurred on Sunday, adding that the ill-fated boat was carrying 51 passengers, along with goods and motorcycles, when it capsized.

    He said that seven motorcycles were also retrieved from the water and that rescue efforts would continue as authorities race against time to locate the missing passengers.

    “The rescue operation is ongoing. We have also alerted neighbouring communities to assist in the search for more victims,” Kafindangi said.

    Also, the Area Manager of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr  Muhammad Bala, said that the agency had impounded the boat involved in the incident.

    Bala urged boat and canoe operators to always adhere strictly to safety guidelines to prevent future tragedies.

    He attributed the cause of the mishap to wind and overloading, emphasising the need for stakeholders to intensify vigilance on canoe and boat operators business.

    “The safety of passengers must always be a priority.

    “Overloading and ignoring basic safety measures put lives at risk,” Bala said.

    NAN reports that officials of NEMA, NIWA, and SEMA and LG, community leaders (sarkin Ruwa of Kojiyo and Goronyo), as well as local divers were all involved in the operations.

  • Boat mishap claims 2 in Bayelsa

    Boat mishap claims 2 in Bayelsa

    A boat mishap at Akede community in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa has claimed the lives of two people.

    The accident occurred on Tuesday evening when a speedboat collided with a fishing boat leading to the death of two women on board.

    Confirming the incident, the spokesman for the Police in the state, DSP Musa Muhammad, said that the speedboat driver was in the police custody for questioning.

    NAN gathered that all the 13 passengers on board of the ill-fated speedboat were still missing.

    It was learnt that the speedboat, plying Anyama-Ijaw Lobia-Foropa route in Southern Ijaw, collided with a fishing boat.

    A source said that some divers were already on the water to rescue the missing passengers.

    The source said the speedboat named Meeting Marine, powered by a 115 Horse Power engine, was traveling from Anyama Ijaw to Lobia and Foropa communities when it collided with a fishing boat at the Akede community waterfront.

    It was also gathered that a woman and a young girl on board of the fishing boat drowned.
    The Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria in Bayelsa State, Mr Ogoniba Ipigansi also confirmed the incident, saying that the union and divers were in Akede community waterfront for rescue mission.

    Ipigansi confirmed the death of a woman and a young girl on board of the wooden fishing boat, saying that the 13 passengers on board of the speedboat were yet to be accounted for.

    He said all the passengers of the speedboat wore life jackets, expressing hope that they may be rescued.

  • SAD! 19 corpses recovered from Bayelsa boat mishap

    SAD! 19 corpses recovered from Bayelsa boat mishap

    Nineteen bodies have been recovered following Wednesday’s cargo boat accident along the Ezetu I community river in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    Recall the ill-fated boat conveying traders mostly women and their merchandise was said to have left the Ezetu I community on the Atlantic fringe around 3 pm on the fateful day and sailing to Swali in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital when its engine exploded, caught fire and sank in the middle of the river.

    TheNewsGuru.com, had earlier reported no fewer than twenty of the occupants’ the majority of whom are of Igbo extraction, perished in the tragic accident.

    As at the time of filing this report, nineteen bodies of the victims were said to have been recovered by local divers and men of the marine division of the Nigeria Police.

    Sixteen of the corpses, it was learned, were conveyed to the state capital and deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa on Friday while the other three are expected to arrive on Saturday.

  • Boat Mishap: Delta govt prohibits water journey without safety gadgets

    Boat Mishap: Delta govt prohibits water journey without safety gadgets

    Delta Government has prohibited journeys on its water bodies for actors in carrying out their creative talents without putting on life jackets and ensuring other safety measures.

    This is contained in a condolence message by the State Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Dr. Nnamdi Ijeh, to the families of those who lost their lives in the ill-fated boat mishap on the River Niger last week, made available to newsmen in Asaba, on Monday.

    According to the letter, dated April 11, 2024, the commissioner conveyed the sympathies of the State Government and the creative family in the state in the unfortunate incident of April 10, 2024.

    ‘’On behalf of the State Government, Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the entire creative family in the State, I sympathise with the families of those who lost their lives in the process of expressing their creative talent on their way from the location of shooting a movie on April 10, 2024, and the entire Nollywood family.

    ‘’It is with a heavy heart that I want you to know that we share in your pain. At the time the news got to us, we arrived at the scene and discovered that the few ones who were saved from the boat mishap were on life jackets.

    ‘’It is therefore very expedient that, at this time of grief, to say that henceforth, such journeys should not be embarked upon without life jackets, expert divers and other safety precautions,” he said.

    Ijeh also added, ”the Delta  Government takes the life of every citizen as a priority and therefore warns against water journeys without the required safety gadgets, especially those within the entertainment industry.

    In the letter, copied to the President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Dr Emeka Rollas, the  commissioner also prayed for the repose of the departed souls.

  • Junior Pope’s death: Police recover 3 more bodies

    Junior Pope’s death: Police recover 3 more bodies

    The Police Command in Anambra, said it had recovered three more bodies from the  boat mishap that occurred on Wednesday, in Anam community, Anambra West Local Government Area of the state.

    The command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said this in a statement in Awka on Friday.

    Ikenga said that the command’s Marine Police unit in Anambra recovered the remaining three bodies of the boat accident during the shooting of a movie.

    He said that two of the bodies were recovered on April 11, while the last body was washed ashore by the tide early Friday.

    Ikenga said that the bodies have been deposited in an undisclosed mortuary in Asaba, Delta.

    He said that the President of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) has been notified of the recovery.

    “Mr Aderemi Adeoye, Commissioner, Anambra Police Command, has urged all water commuters to be safety conscious,” he said.

    He advised water commuters to avoid behaviour that might jeopardise their safety and that of others on water transit.

    Adeoye assured that the command would thoroughly investigate the cause of the sad accident that claimed the lives of five actors and proffer a lasting solution.

    He commended the Marine Command Unit and its Commander for their dedication to duty.

  • Boat mishap claims lives of 2 children in Niger

    Boat mishap claims lives of 2 children in Niger

    Two children have been confirmed dead while two others sustained various degrees of injuries in a boat mishap that occurred in Katcha Local Government Area of Niger.

    The Overseeing Director-General of Niger Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Alhaji Salihu Garba, disclosed this to NAN in Minna on Saturday.

    He said the incident occurred on Friday at about 6 p.m when the boat engine caught fire due to a machanical failure and inflamed a gallon of petrol stored inside the boat.

    He said that 145 passengers were in the boat, adding that they were from Danbo community in Kogi.

    Garba disclosed that the passengers were on their way back from Katcha market when the incident occurred.

    He said that the body of one of the deceased children had been recovered while the search for that of the second missing child was still ongoing.

  • 22 persons drown as boat capsizes in Niger, six bodies recovered

    22 persons drown as boat capsizes in Niger, six bodies recovered

    About 22 passengers drowned on Monday in a boat mishap in Niger State.

    It was gathered that the victims were going from Kasabu village in the Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State to Yauri in Kebbi State, on Monday morning when the boat capsized due to a downpour accompanied by heavy wind.

    As of Tuesday night, a search and rescue team had only recovered six bodies, including that of a Kebbi pastor, based in Niger State.

    According to the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, most of the victims were going to transact at the Monday Market in Yauri, Kebbi State when the incident occurred.

    The spokesman for NSEMA, Hussaine Ibrahim, said most of the victims were believed not to have worn lifejackets.

    “We received a report from our desk officers in Agwara of the boat incident that occurred on Monday between 11am. and 12am.

    “Since morning, there has been serious rain there and it has made it difficult for the search and rescue team to achieve much results.

  • Boat mishap: Gov Otu orders indefinite suspension of activities in Marina Resort

    Boat mishap: Gov Otu orders indefinite suspension of activities in Marina Resort

    Gov. Bassey Otu in further response to the cruise boat mishap involving 14 medical students at the Marina Resort on Saturday, ordered the suspension of cruise operations and other activities at the resort.

    The order was given in a statement signed by Mr. Emmanuel Ogbeche, Chief Press Secretary to the governor.

    The accident occurred on Saturday at about 3 p.m.

    The boat was ferrying 14 medical students from different tertiary institutions in the nation.

    The governor had earlier ordered an investigation into the incident in which  11 of the 14 students who were in Calabar for their Annual Health Week were rescued and three feared dead.

    ”All cruise operations and other activities at the Marina Resortis hereby suspended immediately until further notice.

    “Operators of cruise boats and management of the state’s Tourism Bureau are directed to attend a meeting in the office of the Secretary to the State Government on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.

    “Besides the cruise boat operations, the State Ministry of Transport is to immediately cross-check the safety standards and conditions of all boats operating in Calabar waterways,” he said.

    The governor also appealed to the police to speed up their investigations of the fatal boat accident and prosecute those culpable.

    In an interview with newsmen, Ejim Egba, National President of the Nigeria Medical Students Association, (NiMSA) accused the management of the resort of negligence, incompetence, and lackadaisical attitude.

    He said that the engine of the boat had gone off in the middle of the river and water started entering the boat which caused it to start sinking and finally capsised.

    “Factors that contributed to the mishap included a leaky boat, poor condition and integrity of the vests, poorly maintained engines resulting in the engine going off during the trip.

    ”Also, their was little or no supervision by Marina Resort management as well as poor regulation and monitoring”, Egba said.

    The medical students had converged in Calabar, for the annual NIMSA Health Week and, as part of the activities, decided to visit the resort, where some embarked on a boat cruise.

  • Boat mishap: Gov Otu to sanction culpable officials of resort

    Boat mishap: Gov Otu to sanction culpable officials of resort

    The Cross River Government will sanction officials of the Marina Resort found culpable of having compromised on safety standards over the cruise boat mishap.

    This is contained in a statement issued by Gov. Bassey Otu’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Emmanuel Ogbeche in Calabar.

    Recalled that a boat carrying 14 medical students capsized on Saturday at about 3 p.m. in the popular Marina Resort. Calabar.

    Three of the students are still missing while 11 others were rescued by men of the Nigerian Navy and villagers.

    The students who were from different tertiary institutions under the aegis of the Nigeria Medical Students Association (NiMSA) were in Calabar for their Annual Health Week.

    They visited the Marina Resort as part of their social activities.

    ”The government is saddened over this incident. We charge security and rescue agencies as well as villagers involved in the operations to find the missing students and reunite them with their families,” Otu said.

    He decried the safety standards at the resort, vowing that anyone found guilty to have compromised on safety would be severely sanctioned.

    ”The news of a cruise boat mishap at the Marina Resort, a tourist and relaxation destination in Calabar, is saddening and calls for concern to me, not only as your governor but as a parent.

    ”To imagine that the boat was overcrowded and some of those on it were without life jackets is of even greater concern and the more reason why the state government will be investigating the incident.

    ”All those found culpable of having compromised on safety standards will face the wrath of the law.

    ”As a government, we remain committed to protecting lives and providing an enabling environment for business, tourism,” he said.

    According to him, any untoward action that derails the objective of the state will not be tolerated.

    He showered praises on the personnel of the Nigerian Navy and villagers who responded swiftly to rescued 11 of the 14 passengers on the boat.

    He further expressed joy that all but one of the rescued students were out of the hospital.

    He also expressed confidence that the remaining one would pull through as doctors had assured that he was stable and responding to treatment.