Story by Dili Utomi.
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has reacted to the unfortunate event that occured recently along the River Niger. The event is the sad report of a boat mishap at Umumu Anam, Anambra West LGA, Anambra state between Thursday the 4th and Friday the 5th of January, 2024 at about 7am and is noted with regrets.
The general manager, corporate affairs of the Authority, Jibril Darda’u in a statement noted that
“The Authority is aware that the sad incident involved a passenger boat travelling from Idah in Kogi state to Onitsha in Anambra state”.
“Upon the receipt of the sad report, relevant personnel from the marine department were deployed for rescue, recovery, and proper investigation”.
He added that “Preliminary reports indicate that the wooden engine boat rammed into a snag on the water channel and capsized with about 50 passengers on board. From the records, 8 persons were confirmed dead at the scene, while 38 others were rescued immediately” .
Mr. Darda’u indicated that “The recovery efforts are ongoing and the Authority will provide detailed information to the public as soon as the field officers report back to the headquarters”.
“The Authority sincerely commiserates with the friends and families of the deceased and prayed to God to rest their souls”.
The statement concluded that “In the meantime, we want to reassure the general public that NIWA is doing everything possible to ensure safer inland waterways for the movement of people and goods across our inland waterways”.
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