Boat Accident Claims 8 Lives In Bayelsa, 4 Days After Six People Drowned In Same Area

As many as eight persons have been feared dead in a boat accident in Bayelsa State which occurred at Oyoma, near Oporoma, the headquarters of the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday.

The tragedy was said to have involved two boats with one ramming into the other most likely due to bad weather and poor visibility.

The accident took place four days after a similar accident claimed six lives between Otuan and Ayama areas of the Southern Ijaw.

The previous tragic accident occurred on Saturday.

Among the deceased persons in Wednesday’s incident were a female member of the National Youth Service Corps; a mother and her two toddlers; a pregnant woman and a 70-year-old man.

The corpses of the NYSC member and the septuagenarian as well as two others had been recovered while two bodies were yet to be found.

The state chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Ipigansi Ogoniba, who confirmed Wednesday’s accident, said that it involved a local boat and a speedboat.

He said, “Yes, we have been there (at the scene of the accident). It occurred at Oyoma near Oporoma and eight people died. One of the boats, the local boat, stopped and the other one hit it.”

The Police Public Relations Officer, Bayelsa State Command, Asinim Butswat, also confirmed the incident, saying that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of the area confirmed the tragedy.