The Nation Newspaper

Tag: boat mishap

  • ‘10 family members died in Ilashe boat mishap’

    The 10 persons who died in last Sunday’s boat mishap at Ilashe were family members, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    They were among the 12 people that boarded the boat shortly after church service and were heading to FESTAC for a evangelical outreach.

    Of the 12, only an eight year-old boy, Phillip Godwin, and the driver of the boat, said to be in an undisclosed hospital, survived.

    Phillip, a primary six pupil of Mount Zion Academy in the village, said he climbed to the top of the boat immediately it capsized and stayed there until he was rescued by emergency responders.

    Head of the Yakub family, Vincent Yakub, said only him remained as all members of his family had been wiped out in the accident.

    He blamed the boat driver who failed to give life jackets to all the passengers.

    “The boat driver did not have any life jacket, and did not give any of his passengers any before embarking on the journey,” Yakub said.

    He said the boat had barely taken off when the accident happened and before help could get to the distressed people 10 members of his family had died.

    He thanked the Lagos State government for the immediate response and for staying with the family and the entire village since the incident happened.

    Phillip, who along with four other children were given life jackets free by the state government, said he was happy that God gave him the opportunity to be alive. He thanked the government for the gesture.

    Addressing the community which had in attendance the monarchs of Ilashe Kingdom, Oba Fatai Dadewole Ekinlu I, and the Alahun of Imore and Apapa, Oba Taofeek Adegboyega Okeju Awojo, the Executive Director of Lagferry Services, Paul Kalejaiye said it had become illegal for anyone to ride on any of its inland waterways without life jackets.

    Kalejaiye, who condoled with the people on behalf of Governor Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, said the governor had ordered that his agency and the State’s Waterways Authority (LASWA) donate life jackets to the community as part of efforts to reduce or obliterate deaths on its waterways.

    He directed that the lifejackets, which he handed over to the monarchs, be distributed to all boat operators, adding that it was illegal for boats to ply the waters without providing passengers with life jackets.

  • 136 missing in boat mishap

    136 missing in boat mishap

    No fewer than seven people have died and seven hospitalised in Ngaski Local Government Area of Kebbi when a boat carrying 150 passengers returning from Malali Market capsized along River Niger.
    The Coordinator of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in-charge of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara States, Alhaji Sulaiman Muhammad, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ngaski yesterday.
    He said efforts were ongoing between fishermen and the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to rescue the missing passengers.
    “As soon as we had got the hint of the mishap, we put a call to the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority to help rescue the missing passengers.
    “All the people on board were missing, but as rescue and search continue wide and deep of the river intensified, 14 people have been discovered; seven died and seven have been taken to Ngaski Hospital,” he said.
    NAN gathered that the accident occurred when the boat on transit carrying 150 passengers hit a branch of tree in the water and capsized.
    Ngaski Local Government Area is two hours journey from the river where the incident happened.

  • NSCDC operative, youth corps member drown in Bayelsa boat mishap

    NSCDC operative, youth corps member drown in Bayelsa boat mishap

    An operative of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member have drowned in Bayelsa State following a boat mishap.

    It was gathered that the boat incident occurred along the waterways of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

    It was learnt that the unidentified NSCDC operative died on Wednesday during an operational tour along the Lobia area of the Southern Ijaw waterways.

    The patrol boat conveying the team of NSCDC reportedly collided with another boat when it was pursuing suspected oil pipeline vandals.

    The corps member, who was said to be serving at Okpotuwari community in Southern Ijaw, also died in a separate boat accident.

    The incident reportedly happened at about 2pm on Thursday at a jetty in the community.

    Other passengers in the ill-fated boat were said to have rescued and taken ashore.

    Some sources identified the corps member as a male and an indigene of Anambra State.

    They said the incident happened when a local boat conveying them across the river of Okpotuwari and Ondewari tumbled and threw the occupants overboard.

    While two of the victims were said to have been rescued alive by community divers, the corps member was unlucky and got drowned.

    The corps member and others were said to have crossed over to Ondewari community and were returning to their base in the ill-fated boat when the tragedy happened

    But, another community source, who spoke in confidence alleged that the driver of the boat conveying the corps members lost control of the boat on getting close to the jetty due to high sea tides.

    He said that the high current caused the boat to capsize.

    He noted that while the deceased corps member was unlucky to have drowned before help could come his way, his colleagues were rescued by community folks.

    When contacted, the state coordinator of the NYSC, Mr. Anthony Ekeocha, the incident was reported to him by the Southern Ijaw Zonal Inspector.

    But he said he had yet to get full details of the incident.

    Also, a top officer of the Bayelsa Command of the NSCDC confirmed that the operative died when their boat collided with another boat during a chase on oil vandals.

    “When the boat collided, the operative fell into the water. Because he could not swim, he drowned before rescue team arrived”, the officer who spoke in confidence said.

  • 13 die in boat mishap, tanker fire in Niger

    13 die in boat mishap, tanker fire in Niger

    A total of seven people have died in a boat mishap on River Gbako in Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State on Friday, an official of the state emergency agency said.

    Similarly, six people also died when fuel laden tankers collided in Mokwa.

    Malam Ahmed Inga, Director General, Niger State Emergency Management Agency told newsmen in Minna yesterday that four women and three children drowned when the boat they were travelling in capsised.

    He explained that the boat was conveying 10 female farmers from Balsa community to a rice farm across the river.

    Inga said that three women were rescued by local divers after the accident, which occurred at about 11 am.

    “Yabagi Ibrahim, the owner of the farm lost a wife, a daughter and granddaughter in the unfortunate incident,” he said.

    Gbako river is located on the border between Katcha and Lavun local government area of the state.

    Similarly, six people also died when fuel laden tankers caused multiple accidents in Mokwa, the headquarters of Mokwa Local Government area of the state.

    The director general said that two petrol tankers were invoolved in the accident which occurred on Friday due to break failure.

    “It was said to have hit the one in front, which veered off the road and rammed against the wall of a guest house in the town,” he said.

    He said that the tanker with the failed break also hit another one parked with the product by the side of the road, causing an explosion and fire.

    Inga said many people sustained injuries, with two in critical condition and receiving treatment at Mokwa General Hospital.

     

  • Tompolo’s father burial: 4 die in boat mishap

    Tompolo’s father burial: 4 die in boat mishap

    No fewer than four persons going for the burial of Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo, the late father of fugitive former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, died in a boat mishap at the weekend.

    It was gathered that the victims included three women and a man believed to be a northerner.

    They were said to have met their end when the boat they boarded from Miller Waterside headed for Kurutie in Warri South-West council area capsized at a distance not far from its take off point in Warri.

    The burial ceremony of Chief Ekpemupolo, a Gbaramatu Ijaw chief, kicked-off from Warri town where his remains were ferried from.

    Other activities, including the lying-in-state and the final interment, are billed for his Kurutie home and Okerenkoko in Gbaramatu Kingdom, today.

    A reliable source from the area, who spoke under anonymity, told our correspondent that the sad new reached those already at the ceremony much later, causing moods of the event to be tempered.

    “We were already at the funeral celebrating Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo when we got news of the accident.

    “Initially, we were told only two persons had died. Further details later revealed that about four persons, three females including one Faith from Ogulagha, another female from Kurutie and a man apparently from the northern part of the country, lost their lives in the mishap.

    “The Hausa man I gathered was actually not an invited dignitary, but someone who was conveying some wares to trade at the funeral ground,” the source said.

    Spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, Celestina Kalu (SP), said persons were rescued from the boat mishap.

    Though she could not confirm if anyone died in the mishap, she said search was still on for more people.

    Kalu noted that accounting for the number of persons involved in the accident was difficult because there was no manifest before the accident.

    ”Regretfully be informed that a W-19 boat, mounted with 115HP Yamaha engine, capsized at Wari River.

    “Patrol team rescued 11 people, while searching and investigation are ongoing. There was no manifest to know the number of passengers in the boat, number of death not certain yet,” she said in a terse message.

     

  • Boat mishap: Lagos speaker blames transport ministry, LASWA

    Boat mishap: Lagos speaker blames transport ministry, LASWA

    Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa has pointed out that lack of effective regulations from the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and the state ministry of transportation were responsible for incessant boat accidents on the state waterways, saying henceforth they will be held responsible for any accident.

    Obasa made the observation yesterday at plenary after members had taken comments from the State commissioner for Transportation, Dayo Mobereola and Managing Director of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Abisola Kamson during plenary.

    The House had last week summoned the Commissioner and the MD LASWA over re-occurrence of boat accidents that have claimed several lives in the state.

    The speaker who conspicuously expressed displeasure over the responses of the duo when they quizzed at plenary, stated that “as we speak, you have no regulations. You have not been able to do the necessary regulation to monitor the activities of the operators and you have been operating without a board.

    “How many times have you taken time to be on the waterways? What is your staff strength? What is the local government doing about this? It shows in fact that you are not in existence,” Obasa said.

    He however, said that a stakeholders meeting with all the relevant agencies, would be called to address the issue holistically. Earlier in her reaction to questions posed by the lawmakers, LASWA MD said that some of the challenges the Authority has been facing included a judgement that was delivered against LASWA, adding that Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has been leveraging on the judgement.

    Kamson explained that some of the causes of the tragedies recorded on the waterways were as a result of over speeding by operators, vessels not fitted with the required technology like speedometer and running into fallen logs along the waterways among others.

    She added that, “what we are now doing is to work in collaboration with marine police and operators to adhere to safety regulations.”

    She disclosed that over 2 million passengers ply the Lagos waterways on monthly basis, adding that all the 26 jetties on the waterways are being manned by water guards who would be responsible for ensuring regulation.

    In his comments, the commissioner for Transportation, Mobereola said since the incident occurred there had been stakeholders meeting where LASWA, NIWA, Marine police and Lagos State Safety Corps were in attendance.

    He added that the state government has been doing “everything humanly possible to avert such accident in future. Water transportation is one of the cardinal programmes of the state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode and would also do things in accordance with that regards.”

  • Nursing mother, kids die in Delta boat mishap

    Nursing mother, kids die in Delta boat mishap

    A nursing mother, Mrs. Patience Endurance Umih, her four-year-old baby and two daughters have died in a boat mishap at Igbide, Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State.

    The four were said to have died when they were returning from a farm.

    Another woman, Mrs. Esini Igama Uvoh, is the only survivor.

    It was learnt that Mrs Umih, said to be in her mid-30s, had harvested cassava from her flooded farm and was returning home with her children when their boat capsized.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said one of the victims was attempting to fetch water from the river when she lost her cup.

    In the bid to recover it, she allegedly upset the boat, which upturned its passengers and load into the river.

    The source said: “…Local divers retrieved the bodies of the woman and her two daughters. They rescued only Mrs. Uvoh.”

    A family source told our reporter that Mrs. Umih hails from Iyede, in Isoko North Local Government Area but married an Igbide man.

    Efforts to contact the community’s president-general, Chief David Edegware, for comments, were unsuccessful last night.

    He did not respond to the calls to his calls.

  • Lagos boat mishap: Six bodies recovered

    Emergency workers have recovered all the six bodies of missing teenagers of Wednesday’s boat mishap in Ojo – Irewe waterways, Lagos.
    Three of the bodies were recovered Wednesday night and the other three at about 9am on Thursday, said the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) southwest spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye.
    The six teenagers were among 15 persons involved in the boat accident that occurred on Wednesday morning after a fibre boat ran into their canoe.
    While nine others including the paddler were rescued alive at the time of the accident, the deceased could not be found.
    According to rescuers, the children between ages 13 and 17 were on their way to school when the mishap occurred.

  • Two die, 14 rescued in boat mishap

    Two die, 14 rescued in boat mishap

    The bodies of two passengers of a boat that capsized on Wednesday night in Igando, Lagos, were recovered yesterday.

    The bodies are yet to be collected by their family members, who stormed the scene yesterday.

    Fourteen others were rescued by local divers with the assistance of men from Igando Police Division.

    The boat capsized on the way to Imoshe in Ogun State after taking off from Akesan in Lagos.

    The number of passengers on board could not be ascertained.

    It was gathered that on taking off, it hooked on to another boat carrying two passengers, so as to withstand the tide, but it did not work.

    The panic stricken passengers were said to have jumped out of the boat before it capsized. Some swam to safety, others were rescued by local fishermen. It was gathered that none of the passengers was wearing life jacket.

    At the scene yesterday, policemen were combing the river for victims. Sources hinted that the case was not reported by the canoe operators.

    “They deliberately refused to report the case to the Police because they wanted to hide the accident from us. As we speak, families of the deceased have not come to the station to report either”, a source said.

    A relative of one of the victims, who gave her name as Omolara, said she was yet to see her brother’s body. She said she got a call from one of the boat operators about the accident but was warned not to involve the police.

    “The challenge we are confronted with is how to get his body. I can’t find the person that called me on phone. He has absconded with the body out of fear of being arrested by the police”

    The second victim, whose name was given as Fatima, a petty trader, was said to have gone to buy jewely which she intended to sell before Eid-El-Kabir celebration.

    Another person was seen wailing as he claimed he was yet to see one Michael.

    Two boat operators are being grilled by the police on what happened.

  • One dead, several injured as boat explodes in Lagos

    A man identified as Emmanuel Omu was on Sunday confirmed dead, with several others injured following a boat explosion in Lagos.
    Although the explosion was said to have occurred on Friday, the deceased was only recovered on Sunday by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
    The boat, belonging to Aquitien Oil and Gas, was said to have been engulfed in fire after its engine exploded while trying to refill gasoline at Capital Oil Jetty in Victoria Island
    It was learnt that most of the boat passengers were rescued by volunteers immediately the incident occurred and taken to unknown hospitals in Lagos Island.
    A relative of the deceased, Sunday Ezugha told The Nation on telephone that they have been looking for him since the explosion occurred but could not locate him.
    He said the explosion happened between 7:45am and 8am on Friday.
    Ezugha accused the boat owners, Aquitien Oil and Gas of abandoning the victims adding that all efforts to reach them since the mishap have been unsuccessful.
    He however, refused to speak further because he was mourning Omu, adding “I am not in the position to speak for the family.”
    When contacted, NEMA’s southwest spokesman, Ibrahim Farinloye said the agency only got the information after a report was made on Sunday.
    In another development, a man of about 30 years was on Sunday electrocuted at 20, Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja.
    The man, whose name is yet to be ascertained, was said to have been doing some plumbing work on top the set building at the instance of the company (car-dealer) occupying the premises before the misfortune.
    He was said to have been at the deck and had another of his colleague, who raised the alarm before state fire service personnel were alerted.
    When contacted, director, State Fire Service, Rasaq Fadipe said the electrocution may have been caused by a naked wire.
    He said: “We used our ladder to bring him down but unfortunately, he was already dead. He was doing some plumbing work on top of the building when the incident occurred.
    “Aside this rescue call, we also attended to four fire cases Saturday night. Let we reiterate my call on Lagosians to be cautious to reduce avoidable deaths and damages.”