From David Onwuchekwa, Nnewi
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has stationed personnel in all its area offices across the federation on daily patrol of the waterways for quick response to emergencies.
The agency said this had become necessary due to the rising level of water which had been causing flooding in some parts of the country.
The General Manager of NIWA Corporate Affairs, Mr Jibril Darda’u disclosed this in a statement while commiserating with the people of Umunnakwo in Ogbaru Local Government Area and the government of Anambra State over the recent boat mishap which was said to have consumed six lives, according to the update from the state government.
NIWA, however, said that the boat mishap which was said to have been caused by mechanical and human error could have been averted if the basic safety guidelines of wearing life jackets and other safety measures were adhered to.
Mr Darda’u expressed deep shock and sadness over the incident.
He said: “According to the report from our Onitsha area office, at about 12:30 pm of the 7th day of October 2022, it was revealed that the wooden engine boat, after it has loaded 48 passengers, left for its destination; but at a point, the engine developed a mechanical fault and as such could not start again.
“All efforts by the captain of the boat to restart the engine proved abortive and at that point, the current started to pull the boat backwards towards the bridge linking Umunnakwo and Ossomala.
“Some of the passengers who could swim jumped into the river for safety, while others tried to push the boat away from the bridge. Those that could not swim were trapped in the boat and out of fear, they all moved to one side of the boat as soon as the boat collided with the bridge, it capsized leaving ten persons dead. Out of the forty-eight passengers, thirty-eight were rescued alive, five were children and thirty-three adults.
“Despite the several efforts of the Managing Director of NIWA, Chief Dr George Moghalu, in distributing free life jackets to boat operators association in all our twenty-three area offices nationwide and sensitisation campaign and training for boat operators and water users on the importance of adhering to the safety guidelines on the waterways, to our dismay, it was revealed that only one of the passengers on board wore a life jacket and was saved, while others were not on a life jacket.
“This came to us at NIWA as a surprise because the Onitsha area office had countlessly carried out a sensitisation programme on the importance of the use of life jackets amongst other safety guidelines in the State.
“Consequently, due to the rising level of the flood, the area office has stationed personnel on daily patrol of the waterways for quick response to emergencies as they might arise.”