An engine boat loaded with about 85 passengers has capsized and killed no fewer than 76 persons on board.
Witnesses said the ill-fated boat took off from Onukwu Bridge with 85 passengers on board and was heading to Nkwo market, Ogbakuba in Ogbaru Local Government Area, Anambra State, before it capsized. The incident happened early Saturday morning.
According to sources, only nine persons have been rescued while the rest are yet to be seen.
The Transition Committee Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government Area, Pascal Aniegbuna, who confirmed the unfortunate incident to journalists in Awka said, “while some of the passengers were rescued, several others, unfortunately lost their lives.”
Meanwhile, the former House of Representatives member representing Ogbaru Federal Constituency, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, has expressed sadness over the unfortunate accident.
Ogene, who is the Labour Party 2023 House of Representatives candidate for Ogbaru Federal Constituency, in a statement on Saturday, said Ogbaru is devastated and in shock over the horrendous boat accident that took the precious lives of some of its sons and daughters.
“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,” he said.