The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has sent an emergency rescue team to search for missing passengers of a merchant boat that capsized in Kogi on Friday.
The Managing Director of NIWA, Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, said this in a statement on Friday.
According to Oyebamiji, the boat capsized in the waters of Ebe community in Kupa South Local Government Area of Kogi in the early hours of Friday.
“Preliminary findings by NIWA indicate that the wooden boat was travelling to the Katcha market in Niger State when it suddenly went under due to poor visibility and overloading. There are no details of lives lost so far.
“The wooden craft, operated by an unknown boat operator, left with unsubstantiated number of passengers, from an abandoned jetty at 1.00 a.m. on Friday morning with intent to beat NIWA’ s tight surveillance on waterways.
“To unravel the cause of the accident, NIWA has set up an investigation panel to ascertain the real cause of the accident, the total number of passengers onboard and the owner of the craft,” he said.
He added that the top management team of NIWA was leading and coordinating the rescue operations as well as making sure that survivors of the boat mishap would receive urgent medical attention.
He said that NIWA would, in due course, release more information on the incident.
“We are shocked by this incident despite all our efforts to sensitise Nigerians about safety measures on waterways. It is not quite long when we unveiled the National Waterways Transportation Code, visited communities and stakeholders to make them have a buy in to our strategy to curb accidents on water.
“We also discussed with state governors in Nigeria to partner with us in providing safe water crafts to help move people and goods safely across our waterways but now, sadly, this happened.
“NIWA will investigate this accident and will prosecute the boat captain and the owner for deliberate disobedience to the extant law on waterways,” he said.
Kogi Governor calls for more safety measures to minimize boat accidents.
Also Read: Kogi State: Many Missing As Boat With 200 Passengers Capsizes
Meanwhile, Kogi State governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has called on National Inland Waterways Authority NIWA to adopt increased safety measures to end boat capsizing that claims lives in Kogi and Niger states.
The governor said in a statement released by Dr. Ismail Isah, Special Adviser on media, that a boat conveying mostly women engaged in trading and other businesses along the Dembo-Ebuchi sections capsized and claimed some passengers was very sad.
Governor Ododo said most of the victims were women, petty traders, and artisans involved in legitimate businesses to earn a living along the River Niger in Kogi State.
The statement added that the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) confirmed that some traders on their way to the Katcha market in Niger State were killed as a result of the boat capsizing while others sustained various degrees of injuries.
Governor Ododo sympathised with the victims and prayed for the souls of the deceased and fast recovery of those who sustained injuries.
The Kogi Governor said that the waterway linking Kogi and Niger state was becoming increasingly dangerous as a result of frequent boat accidents and stressed the need for more safety measures to minimise risks associated with water transportation in the country.
Governor Ododo commended the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) for its efforts in search and rescue operations.
The Kogi State Governor called for more efforts by adopting inter-agency collaboration to prevent cases of waterways accidents that would enhance emergency responses in the areas.
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