2 Sao Tome and Principe Fishermen Rescued In Bayelsa

Two fishermen, Antonio Sabino and Osorio Pires from Neves in Sa Tome and Principe lost in the Atlantic Ocean for five days have been rescued in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria.

The fishermen who speak Portuguese were said to have been rescued by a trawler fishing in the Gulf of Guinea and handed over to fishermen from Okpoama-Brass who took them ashore.

They have been handed over to the Divisional Police Officer, Okpoama Division of the Nigeria Police Force, CSP Ebimiesigha Bebetu.

The chairman of the Okpoama Kingdom Security Committee, Chief Munalayefa William-Sinte said the highly malnourished men were clothed and fed before they were handed over to the police for necessary action.

He said the fishermen who were visibly worried were calmed with sign language before they were handed over to the police as it was impossible to communicate with them because of the language barrier.

Sinte also informed our reporter that a fisherman from Ilaje in Ondo State but resident in Okpoama has been missing for over a week, adding that his colleagues have been searching the ocean for days.

In 2019, bodies of two male fishermen at an advanced stage decomposition were found in a fishing boat that drifted ashore in Okpoama from Sa Tomē and Principe.

Confirming the incident, the spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, SP Asinim Butswat, confirmed that the Divisional Police Officer of Okpoama Division, Brass local government area, Bayelsa State has taken custody of two fishermen who were rescued by a captain of a fishing trawler at 50 nautical miles off the Atlantic Ocean, on July 2 2023.

The two fishermen, Antonio Sabino ‘m’ 52 years and Osorio Pires ‘m’ 41 years from Neves in Sao Tome and Principe got lost in the Atlantic Ocean for five days before being rescued by a captain of a fishing trawler.

The police authorities have established contact with a coast guard officer from Sao Tome and Principe and are making concerted effort to reunite them with their family.