The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the demise of 11 passengers following a boat accident that happened in the Andoni-Bonny coastal waters on Tuesday.
An eyewitness account revealed that the accident ensued from a collision between two passenger boats navigating along the same route.
SP Grace Iringe-Koko, the spokesperson for the command, affirmed the incident in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
She clarified that 11 passengers lost their lives in the mishap, dismissing rumours that 20 individuals had perished.
“On January 9 at around 9:15 a.m., a local wooden boat powered by a single 25HP Yamaha engine, ferrying passengers, capsized,” she said.
“The boat was transporting passengers from Ukwa community in Ngo town, Andoni Local Government Area, heading towards Bonny Island when it sank near Amariaria community in Finima town.”
“Upon receiving the information, SP Ogarachi Chima, the head of the Marine division, proceeded to the accident site and confirmed that 11 passengers were feared drowned,” she added.
Iringe-Koko noted that the police had initiated a thorough investigation to establish the cause of the tragedy.
Previously, the Chairman of Andoni Local Government Council, Erastus Awortu, had reported that 20 individuals were feared drowned in the incident.
“We received a distressing report that over 20 persons from Andoni are feared dead after two boats bound for Andoni/Bonny capsized in the turbulent Andoni Sea,” he said.
“In response, we promptly dispatched our team to assist the initial responders in the rescue mission at the site of the accident.”
“We’re closely monitoring the situation to offer further assistance, especially in providing medical aid to the survivors and recovering the bodies of the deceased from the sea,” Awortu stated. (NAN)
