Boat mishap claims 2 in Bayelsa

A boat mishap at Akede community in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa has claimed the lives of two people.

The accident occurred on Tuesday evening when a speedboat collided with a fishing boat leading to the death of two women on board.

Confirming the incident, the spokesman for the Police in the state, DSP Musa Muhammad, said that the speedboat driver was in the police custody for questioning.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that all the 13 passengers on board of the ill-fated speedboat were still missing.

It was learnt that the speedboat, plying Anyama-Ijaw Lobia-Foropa route in Southern Ijaw, collided with a fishing boat.

A source said that some divers were already on the water to rescue the missing passengers.

The source said the speedboat named Meeting Marine, powered by a 115 Horse Power engine, was traveling from Anyama Ijaw to Lobia and Foropa communities when it collided with a fishing boat at the Akede community waterfront.

It was also gathered that a woman and a young girl on board of the fishing boat drowned.
The Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria in Bayelsa State, Mr Ogoniba Ipigansi also confirmed the incident, saying that the union and divers were in Akede community waterfront for rescue mission.

Ipigansi confirmed the death of a woman and a young girl on board of the wooden fishing boat, saying that the 13 passengers on board of the speedboat were yet to be accounted for.

He said all the passengers of the speedboat wore life jackets, expressing hope that they may be rescued.