Two dead bodies of passengers on board a local boat – MV Tari, which capsized last Thursday afternoon along the Okoroma axis in Nembe local government area of Bayelsa State have been discovered holding tightly on the wooden pillars under the water.
They were discovered when a team of divers on a search-and-rescue mission went inside the boat under the water in search of casualties at the weekend.
The divers could not recover the bodies after several attempt to remove their stiff hands from the pillars proved abortive, but arrangements have been concluded by the rescue team to go back to the site with a badge and a tug boat.
It could be recalled that a local boat – MV Tari, conveying passengers and goods from Yenagoa, the state capital to Okpoama in Brass LGA on last Thursday capsized near Iwokiri in Okoroma.
LEADERSHIP gathered that the local boat with double decks which has about 95 passengers onboard left Yenagoa to Brass at exactly 8:45am and stopped at Okodi Obia, Dogioma, Akakimama and Olokiama communities and offloaded some passengers before the unfortunate incident happened at about 2:35pm en route to Brass.
Speaking with LEADERSHIP in a telephone interview, the Bayelsa State Maritime Workers Union chairman, Comrade Ogoniba Ipigansi, confirmed that four bodies (three adults and a two-year-old child) have so far been recovered following a search and rescue mission, adding that three persons including the child have been buried.
On the actual cause of the boat mishap, Ipigansi said, “The water was dry and the place was shallow. They got to a point the captain wanted to turn the boat while on speed, it grounded on one side which caused the boat to bend. Drums of fuel and other goods loaded inside the boat fell off from that side of the boat into the water including all the passengers, which made the boat to capsize.
“At that point, another boat bound to anchor at Okoroma before sailing to Peremabiri then to Amassoma as its final stop was coming from Port Harcourt when the boat sank. It was that boat that quickly turned and rescued some persons before we got calls from them.
“About ninety something passengers were on board the boat. The boat first stopped to Okodi Obia, Dogioma, Akakimama and Olokiama and offloaded some passengers. Invariably, they may have dropped more than 50 passengers from the boat with less than 40 persons still remaining. The number of recorded deaths could have been more”, he said.
No Life Lost In Bayelsa Boat Mishap – Maritime Workers
The maritime chairman called on the state and federal government to come up with a standard to ensure that these local wooden boats are constructed with either iron or fibers as a measure to avert any future occurrence.
“They can package it in form of a soft loan to the boat owners to buy. Then anybody that is coming on his own to join the union must be prepared to follow the government laid down standard”, he suggested.
A student, Comrade Kpe Jeremiah Ayebainemi, whose mother and child were in the boat when it capsized confirmed to LEADERSHIP that they have been successfully rescued.
According to him, the boat was loaded with goods beyond its capacity which tilted a bit to one side before it set sail from Swali waterside for Okpoama, adding that, “they still loaded again about 200 bags of pure water at Okoroma even against the disdain of passengers and others that shortly after they had left the jetty, it sank.”
Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State governor Douye Diri has expressed sadness over the fatal boat incident at Okoroma community while sympathising with injured victims and the families that lost persons in the unfortunate mishap.
He directed the relevant government agencies, including security agencies, to collaborate in the search-and-rescue efforts and ensure the recovery of all missing persons.
Diri added that the government would review the cause of such incidents in order to take steps to ensure safety of lives and goods on the state’s waterways.
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