Wooden cargo boat, identified as ‘Godbless Dickson’, laden with cargo and over 64 passengers and crew has reportedly, exploded, leaving 20 people dead in Bayelsa waterways
The tragic incident occurred on Wednesday along the Ezetu 1 community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa.
The ill-fated cargo boat laden with farm produce from the rural settlement was enroute Swali market in Yenagoa.
Ogoniba Ipigansi, Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Bayelsa Chapter, confirmed the incident in an interview with a Newsmen on Thursday
He said a rescue team of the union, consisting of two speed boats, had been dispatched to the scene to assist the passengers on board.
The exact number of casualties was yet to be ascertained, as rescue was still underway and several people on board yet to be accounted for.
A speed boat operator, Augustine Amayoro, who participated in rescue efforts, said he rescued 10 persons from the scene, leaving other passengers stranded in the nearby fishing camp.
The wooden cargo boats were exempted from the state government’s ban on night navigation on waterways.
Due to the slow pace of navigation, the cargo boats set sail a day ahead of the targeted weekly market days of Thursdays when farm produce flood the Swali waterside in Yenagoa.
The Chairman of Southern Ijaw LGA, Target Segibo who bemoaned the loss of 20 persons in the incident, described the disaster as regrettable.
He urged stakeholders to strengthen safety regulations in the marine transport sector.
Author: Maureen Ikpeama