Tension As 76 Persons Feared Dead In Anambra Boat Accident
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Tragedy has struck Umunnankwo community in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, following the missing no fewer than 76 persons in a boat mishap.
The incident which reportedly occurred on Saturday, has thrown the community and neighbouring town into mourning.
Witnesses said the ill-fated boat took off from Onukwu Bridge with 85 passengers on board and was heading for Nkwo market, Ogbakuba before it capsized, according to a local medium, TheRazor.
The Transition Committee Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, Pascal Aniegbuna, who confirmed the unfortunate incident to journalists in Awka said, “while some of the passengers were rescued, several others, unfortunately lost their lives.”
Although, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) is yet to issue a statement on the incident, staff of the agency who spoke to journalists on condition of anonymity described the incident as a state tragedy.
According to the source, “an engine boat that loaded about 85 passengers at Onukwu bridge Ossomala en route to Nkwo Ogbakuba market capsized this morning. Only 9 passengers were rescued, the rest are yet to be seen.
“I wasn’t there when the boat loaded but the information we got unofficially is that it loaded 85,” the staff said.
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Speaking with journalists on Saturday, a former House of Representatives member, Victor Afam Ogene, expressed shock and deep sorrow over the development which he said claimed the lives of several people.
Ogene, who is the Labour Party 2023 House of Representatives candidate for Ogbaru Federal Constituency, said Ogbaru was devastated and in shock over the horrendous boat accident that took the precious lives of some of its sons and daughters.
He said, “This sad news of this terrible accident is numbing and painful to me as a person and must be very devastating, especially to the immediate families of the victims. This is a collective loss for Ogbaru as a whole and we are united in sorrow.
“My condolences go to the affected families and also Ogbahu people and communities, who have in recent times found themselves in the jaws of severe flood disaster that has practically submerged all our communities and displaced thousands of people.”
Ogene had earlier made an appeal in a press statement to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to come to the rescue of the people of Ogbaru over the flood disaster in the area.
