From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), has commiserated with families and friends of the deceased in a boat mishap that occurred at Umumu Anam, Anambra West LGA, Anambra state between Thursday 4th and Friday 5th of January, 2024, at about 7am
The General Manager, Corporate Affairs of NIWA, Jibril Darda’u, in a statement made available to Journalists in Lokoja, on Monday, sad that the incident involved a passenger boat travelling from Idah in Kogi state to Onitsha in Anambra state.
According to the General Manager, “upon the receipt of the sad report, relevant personnel from the marine department were deployed for rescue, recovery, and proper investigation
“Preliminary reports indicated 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.
“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.
“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”
