National Inland Waterways Authority(NIWA) has confirmed the sad incident of a boat mishap which occured at Ummu Anam, Anambra West LGA, Anambra state between Thursday 4th and Friday 5th of January, 2024 at about 7am.
Alhaji Jibril Darda’u, GM Corporate Affairs of the Authority noted with regrets that the sad incident involved a passenger boat travelling from Idah in Kogi state to Onitsha, Anambra state.
“Upon receipt of the sad report, relevant personnel from the marine department were deployed for rescue, recovery, and proper investigation.
“Preliminary reports revealed that the wooden engine boat rammed into a snag on the water channel and capsized with about 50 passengers on board. From the records, 8 persons were confirmed dead at the scene, while 38 others were rescued immediately.
“The recovery efforts are ongoing and Authority will provide detailed information to the public as soon as the field officers report back to the headquarters.
“The Authority sincerely commiserates with the friends and families of the deceased and prayed to God to rest their souls.
“In the meantime, we want to reassure the general public that NIWA is doing everything possible to ensure safer inland waterways for the movement of people and goods across our inland waterways,” he said.
