News
Female Corps Member, Three Others Die In Bayelsa Boat Accident
A female member of the National Youths Service Corps, identified simply as Immaculate, and three other people including a 70-year-old chief from the Otuan community have been confirmed dead following Saturday’s boat accident that occurred along the Otuan and Ayama communities.
The two communities are in the Southern Ijaw Local Government council area of Bayelsa State.
According to sources from the community, the corpses of other victims of the boat mishap are yet to be found.
Daily Trust reports that the boat accident was allegedly caused by bad weather, poor visibility and the lack of life jackets for passengers.
A boat operator at Ayama waterfront also confirmed that the corpses of the victims, particularly the female corps member, and the 70-year-old chief from Otuan were found floating on Sunday night close to the scene of the incident.
The Bayelsa State Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union, Comrade Ipigansi Ogoniba, said that the union and the search teams were notified of the corpses of the victims floating on the river close to the scene of the accident, adding that the recovered corpses had been handed over the families of the deceased, while the two toddlers were still missing.
He disclosed that the authorities of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) had been notified of the recovery of the corpse of the deceased female corps member.
Domo Timi, who is the son of the 70-year-old victim, confirmed that while the corpse of his father was deposited at the Niger Delta Teaching Hospital at Okolobiri, the remains of the corps member was deposited at the Federal Medical Centre.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, SP Asinim Butswat, has denied the rumoured arrest of the boat driver, Lucky Christopher.
He said the driver of the ill-fated boat was only invited by the police for questioning on why he conveyed the victims during a heavy rainstorm.
