A wooden cargo boat, identified as ‘Godbless Dickson’, laden with cargo and over 64 passengers and crew exploded, burst into flames, and sank.
Gatekeepers News reports that tragic incident occurred along Ezetu 1 community in Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa on Wednesday.
Police spokesman in Bayelsa, ASP Musa Mohammed who confirmed the incident, revealed that twenty (20) people have been confirmed dead so far, adding that rescue efforts by Marine Police unit were still ongoing.
The cargo boat laden with farm produce was heading to Swali market in Yenagoa.
Chairman of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Bayelsa Chapter, Mr Ogoniba Ipigansi also confirmed the incident on Thursday.
Ogoniba revealed that a rescue team of the union, consisting of two speedboats, had been dispatched to the scene to assist the passengers on board.
He noted that the exact number of casualties was yet to be ascertained, as rescue mission was still underway and many people on the boat were yet to be accounted for.
One of the participants in the rescue mission, Mr Augustine Amayoro who is a speedboat operator revealed that he rescued ten people from the scene, leaving other passengers stranded in nearby fishing camp.
According to reports, the wooden cargo boats were exempted from state government’s ban on night navigation on waterways.
The cargo boats had set sail a day ahead of the targeted weekly market days of Thursdays, due to slow pace of navigation.
Also,Chairman of Southern Ijaw LGA, Chief Target Segibo bemoaned the demise of the victims, describing the disaster as regrettable.
He called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to strengthen safety regulations in marine transport sector.
