A boat mishap has claimed the lives of an infant and 10 other passengers who were travelling to Bonny Island from Ngo in Andoni Local Council of Rivers State.
It was gathered that the incident happened on January 8, as 25 passengers boarded a fishing boat around 2 pm but were struck by a heavy wave that destroyed the boat.
A source close to one of the survivors in a statement, narrated that after the boat capsized, rescue came hours later and 14 people were rescued.
The source said the survivor, Ayayi Festus, embarked on the journey with his wife, four children and his grandchild but lost all of them in the unfortunate incident.
The source said: “The fishing boat, which is the only source of livelihood for Mr. Ayayi Promise Festus from Ngo, carried 25 passengers, including his wife, Mrs Rose Promise, four of his children and his little grandchild. They had departed Ngo town to Bonny, their settlement, around 2p.m., yesterday 8th January.
“While travelling, the boat was struck by a heavy wave around Bonny River which divided and destroyed the big boat.
“As at when this unfortunate incident occurred there were no rescue team to save the 25 passengers on board. Hours later when rescue team came, 11 passengers had drowned while 14 passengers including Festus and his wife were rescued.”
The source noted that among the 11 passengers who drowned, five were the children and the little grandchild of Festus, the driver and owner of the boat who’s a fisherman.
He added that so far, three bodies have been recovered and eight are still missing, and currently being searched for.
