At least 10 people died in Nigeria on Friday when a boat carrying 35 passengers bound for Port Harcourt capsized and sank, a rescue official and local government spokesman said.
“We can confirm that 10 persons died early today when a Port Harcourt-bound passenger boat sank,” National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) co-ordinator Onimode Bandele told AFP.
“Rescue efforts are ongoing and the agency is already working with other bodies and security agencies in the rescue efforts.”
The chairman of Bonny local government council, Adonye Wilcox, also confirmed the accident, which he said occurred at 7:45 am (0645 GMT).
“Information available… indicates that the boat hit an object on the way and sank,” he said.
“Local divers have rescued 17 persons, including four members of the National Youth Service Corps, while 10 persons died as a result of the accident”.
A search was being conducted for the eight people unaccounted for, Wilcox added.
Boat accidents in Nigeria occur frequently and are often caused by overloading, poor vessel maintainance, speeding and poor lighting.
AFP
Why won't they die, what do you expect when we have an irresponsible government, federal, state and local governments, they are all not responsible to anybody neither are responding to anything. Bonny is the only local government in the whole if rivers state that has only one common means of transportation ; by boat. Some other riverine local government in rivers state now have even more than one toads connecting them to Portharcourt and other major towns within and outside the state. Their has bin a proposed road more than three decades ago that is meant to run from the island to portharcourt, but the project, unfortunately has not taken off due to bureaucracy and corruption at the federal level. This road was proposed and started by the government of Yakubu Gowon. The present administration of GEJ came with high hopes of starting and completing it. It has been like that since GEJ fooled himself by promising the people of completion. The Bonny river has taken countless lives and more will still go because that's the only common means if transportation in and out of the island. Even the state government is not helping matter putting and waiting on the government of GEJ as if there is no state interest there. The island is the operation headquarters of the NLNG, it also host the largest tank farm in West Africa, jointly operated by shell, total final, chevron etc unbehalf of the corrupt NNPC. There are also the ExxonMobil gas plant, the chevron heater choke gas plant and other multinationals on the island. The island host the largest oil and gas interest as a local government area unbehalf of the state, nation, etc. What wrong has this LGA done that makes her not to deserve a link road to the mainland?. The only reward that thus island get from playing host to this interest is environmental pollution, environmental noise, ecological damages etc. Even the so called indigenous elites on the island are not helping matters, eg their Amayanabo or king us so selfish and self centred that he has ccornered all the royalty that is coming from the companies to the community all to himself and few cronies. Now he wants to be the richest traditional ruler in Nigeria. At this point, it would be good for the common man in the island to wake up from their slumber and confront all the authorities to revisit the proposed Bonny, Bomu Bodo road to save her citizen from the frequency of untimely dearth that comes with sea transport
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