Bayelsa boat explodes on waterways, 20 dead, others missing

Bayelsa boat explodes on waterways, 20 dead, others missing

A wooden cargo boat, identified as ‘Godbless Dickson’, laden with cargo and over 64 passengers and crew has exploded, burst into flames.

The incident left 20 person’s dead in Bayelsa waterways.

The incident occurred on Wednesday at the Ezetu 1 community end in the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa State.

The police spokesman in the state, ASP Musa Mohammed, said, “20 people have so far been confirmed dead, while rescue efforts by the Marine Police unit are still ongoing.”

The cargo boat laden with farm produce from the rural settlement was enroute Swali market in Yenagoa.

Ogoniba Ipigansi, Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Bayelsa chapter, also confirmed the incident on Thursday.

He said that a rescue team of the union, with two speed boats, had been dispatched to the scene to assist the passengers on board.

He said that the exact number of casualties was yet to be ascertained, as rescue was still underway and several people on board yet to be accounted for.

It was gathered that due to the slow pace of navigation, the cargo boats set sail a day ahead of the targeted weekly market days of Thursdays when farm produce flood the Swali waterside in Yenagoa.

Meanwhile, Chief Target Segibo, Chairman of Southern Ijaw LGA, bemoaned the loss of 20 persons in the incident.

He called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to strengthen safety regulations in the marine transport sector.