ASP Musa Mohammed, the Police Spokesman in Bayelsa told NAN correspondent on telephone that 20 people have been so far confirmed dead, while rescue efforts by the Marine Police unit were still ongoing. The ill-fated cargo boat laden with farm produce from the rural settlement was en route to Swali market in Yenagoa. ADVERTISEMENTHe said that a rescue team of the union, consisting of two-speed boats, had been dispatched to the scene to assist the passengers on board. NAN gathered that the wooden cargo boats were exempted from the state government’s ban on night navigation on waterways. 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 floods the Swali waterside in Yenagoa.

Source: The Guardian August 08, 2024 12:30 UTC