Three persons, six, seven and 15 years old, have drowned in Bayelsa State when the boat in which they were travelling capsized at Ikebiri community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
BusinessDaySunday gathered that the incident occurred at about 1.00am Wednesday when the passengers on the wooden market boat were asleep.
A number of boat accidents have happened in the state prompting the state government to issue safety guidelines for boat operators in the state.
The state government issued safety guidelines to avert boat mishaps and loss of lives on the waterways, but they are flouted by boat operators.
Among the safety measures, boat operators were advised not to travel at night, cook aboard, carry flammable substances such as petrol and urged to provide life jackets for all passengers aboard.
The boat is said to have left Azuzuama community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area bound for Swali Ultra-Modern Market in Yenagoa, the state capital.
A community source disclosed that the corpses of the deceased, two males and one female, had been recovered.
“The boat was overloaded and the water pump failed. The bodies have been recovered and they are being taken to Azuzuama where they came from,” the community source said.
The source also said that the boat was overloaded and the water pump failed causing the accident.
Following the incident, Ipigansi Ogoniba, former chairman of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Bayelsa State Chapter, said that divers had been dispatched to the scene for recovery efforts.
“I don’t know how people lost their lives, but we have dispatched divers to the area to recover the corpses,” he stated.
Musa Mohammed, spokesman for Bayelsa State Police Command, confirmed the incident, but could not say if the boat has been arrested.
“Yes. It happened. I can’t say if the driver has been arrested,” he told BusinessDay Sunday on Friday.
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