Following a boat disaster that reportedly killed eight lives, tragedy struck once more in Bayelsa State's Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
According to reports, the boat was transporting people from the Southern Ijaw Local Government Area's Korokorosei hamlet to Ayama Ijaw.
A similar boat disaster involving roughly seven people travelling from Otuan to Ayama in Southern Ijaw was reported by DAILY POST. Over the weekend, a boating accident claimed their lives.
Eight people lost their lives in a tragic catastrophe when a passenger boat capsized on Wednesday morning.
According to information obtained by DAILY POST, the passenger boat, which was carrying 12 passengers, collided with a local boat carrying Garri from Yenagoa to Ayama.
The tarpaulin meant to screen the passengers from the rain and wind was alleged to have been blown by the wind, covering the boat driver's face and leading him to collide with a nearby boat, which caused the boat to capsize.
The State Chairman of the Maritime Union Workers, Mr. Ipigansi Ogoniba, who confirmed the disaster in an interview, said it was again another tragic incident that could have been avoided.
Around nine this morning, the accident happened (Wednesday). From Korokorosei to Ayama Ijaw, the boat was making its way. In order to protect the passengers from the rain, the boat driver covered them with tarpaulin.
Unfortunately, the passengers did not hold the tarpaulin securely, and the wind blew it over his face as he attempted to hit a nearby boat, which caused the boat to capsize.
"Of the 12 passengers on the boat, eight perished in the water while four were saved.
The four people were saved by our rescue crew, and we transported the empty boat to Ayama, he added.
Ogoniba bemoaned the lack of life jackets given to passengers by boat drivers, which are supposed to prevent them from drowning.
He claimed that no boat should sail without a life jacket, but that this regulation is frequently broken.
He made a suggestion that the union will work with its taskforce and security organisations in the upcoming days to crack down on boat drivers who fail to provide life jackets for their passengers.
"We learned that the boat captains typically do not provide life jackets. We strongly disapproved of not donning a life jacket, he continued.