National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), commiserates with families and friends of those who lossed loved ones in a boat mishap that occurred at Umumu Anam, Anambra West LGA, Anambra State between Thursday the 4th and Friday the 5th of January, 2024 at about 7am.
The General Manager, Corporate Affairs of NIWA, Jibril Darda’u, in a statement made available to journalists in Lokoja recently, said that the incident involved a passenger boat traveling from Idah in Kogi State to Onitsha in Anambra State.
According to the General Manager, “Upon receipt of the sad report, relevant personnel from the Marine Department were deployed for rescue, recovery and proper investigation.
“Preliminary reports indicated that the wooden engine boat rammed into a snag on the water channel and capsized with about 50 passengers on board. From the record, 8 persons were confirmed dead at the scene, while 38 others were rescued immediately.
“The recovery efforts are ongoing and the 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 prays 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”
