Five persons been confirmed dead and 30 others rescued in a boat accident which occurred in River Niger around Mmiata Anam in Anambra West Local Government Area of Anambra State on Sunday.

It was gathered that the boat was sailing from Kogi State to Anambra through the River Niger before it got capsized at the Mmiata banks of the river.

jerrymusa.com reports that the deceased were mainly women and children.

Though the deceased persons are yet to be identified, they were reported to hail from a riverine part of Kogi State, and were travelling by water to Onitsha for various businesses.

According to report, Rescue operators dived into the waters and recovered their lifeless bodies and they were deposited by the bank of the river. 10 lifeless bodies were counted as the rescue operations continued.

Spokesman of the Anambra State Police Command , DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident when contacted, saying that its operatives received a distress call and rushed to the scene.

Rescue 30 persons, five die

Ikenga said that the rescue operators were able to rescued 30 persons, while five were already dead.

He further confirmed that “The situation is under control. Our marine operatives on getting the distress call about the incident responded swiftly.

Earlier reports revealed that the boat was from Kogi State, conveying goods and passengers before the unfortunate incident occurred.

Boat coming from Kogi State

“Meanwhile, the cause is yet to be ascertained as the investigation is ongoing, please.”

The Public Relations Officer of the State Emergency Management Authority, Chinyere Nwoye When also contacted said, “We are making contact and we have also called the police. We heard that the victims were mostly from Kogi. But we plan to visit the here.”

Meanwhile, Tony Nwoye, the Senator representing Anambra North Senatorial Zone, that covers the community where the incident happened, lamented the boat crash as he commiserated with the bereaved families of the victims.

Nwoye said the cause of the mishap is based on lack of good transportation system as he added that he would provide speed boats for the riverine people under his constituency.