OVER 160 passengers are feared dead in a boat mishap on Friday, about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Cross River State.
It was learnt that the passengers who were mostly Igbo traders according to source in Calabar were heading for Gabon and preferred to use the cheap transport means, a giant-sized wooden boat; the MV SONNY, from Oron in Akwa Ibom State, to Gabon, when the boat capsized at Malabo (Equatorial Guinea) waterways.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in a statement, said about nine (9) corpses from the accident were deposited at the mortuary of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital on Tuesday, while two (2) survivors were on admission at the hospital.
NEMA Authority said “the situation is still hazy, as nobody is sure of the number of people in the boat at the moment.”
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said to be coordinating the rescue efforts, declined comment over the matter.
Culled from: Nigerian Tribune
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