NO fewer than 76 persons are missing in a boat mishap that occurred in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
It was gathered that the tragedy took place at the weekend in Umunnankwo community.
Eyewitnesses said to The Forward News Correspondences that the ill-fated boat, which had about 85 persons on board, took off from Onukwu Bridge and was heading to Nkwo market, Ogbakuba before it capsized.
According to Pascal Anieg- buna, the transition committee chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, “while some of the passengers were rescued, several others, unfortunately, lost their lives.
A source in SEMA who craved anonymity because he was not yet authorised to speak on the development said, “An engine boat that loaded about 85 passengers at Onukwu bridge Ossomalaen route to Nkwo Ogbakuba market capsized this morning. Only nine passengers were rescued, the rest are yet to be seen. I wasn’t there when the boat loaded but the information we got unofficially is that, it loaded 85.”
Speaking with journalists on Saturday, a former House of Representatives member, Honourable Victor Afam Ogene, expressed shock and deep sorrow over the development which he said claimed the lives of several people.
Ogene, who is the Labour Party 2023 House of Representatives candidate for Ogbaru Federal Constitu- ency said, Ogbaru was devastated and in shock over the horrendous boat accident that took the precious lives of some of its sons and daughters.
He said, “This sad news of this terrible accident is numbing and painful to me as a person and must be very devastating, especially to the immediate families of the victims. This is a collective loss for Ogbaru as a whole and we are united in sorrow.
“My condolences go to the affected families and also Ogbahu people and communities, who have in recent times found themselves in the jaws of severe flood disaster that has practically submerged all our communities and displaced thousands of people.”
Ogene had earlier made an appeal in a press statement to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to come to the rescue of the people of Ogbaru over the flood disaster in the area.
According to Ogene, in the statement, houses, farms and other businesses in Ogbaru, were swallowed by the horrendous flood, leaving many people in dire agony, sorrow, tears and hopelessness. Meanwhile, Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Soludo, has sympathised with the families of persons involved in the boat mishap.
According to the governor, in a statement made available to The Forward News Correspondences, on Saturday, by his Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, report has it that the boat occupants were on their way to Nkwo Ogbakuba when it capsized by Umunankwo Ossomala Bridge and over 10 persons drowned.
This development is still a shock to the government and good people of Anambra State. I sympathise with the families of people involved,” Governor Soludo said.
