No
fewer than 166 passengers reportedly died off Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
waterways, about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Calabar, Cross River State,
when a boat carrying them capsized.
Already,
corpses of 45 of the victims have been deposited at the University of Calabar
Teaching Hospital mortuary, while rescue operations were still on.
Eyewitnesses
told our correspondent on Tuesday in Calabar that the accident happened on
March 15.
According
to him, the passengers were travelling in a ‘giant-sized wooden boat’ from Oron
in Akwa Ibom State to Gabon, when it capsized on the Malabo waterways.
The
Assistant Director, Information, Cross River Emergency Management Agency, Mr.
David Akate, who confirmed the incident, did not however give further details.
But
one of eyewitnesses said the boat was carrying 168 passengers, adding that
rescue efforts were still going on.
A
Marine Transporter at the Calabar Inland Waterways, Mr. Ikechukwu Egwu, also
confirmed the incident.
He
said the victims were mainly Igbo traders, who were heading for Gabon.
He
said, “They are mostly Igbo traders, who went to Oron to board the wooden boat
because it was cheaper.”
Our
correspondent gathered that the corpses were deposited in UCTH Calabar instead
of Malabo, where the accident occurred, because they were believed to be
Nigerians.
Meanwhile,
another eyewitness said other corpses had been deposited in Oron, Akwa Ibom
State.
When
contacted, the Information Officer in charge of the Eastern Naval Command, Lt.
Cmdr. Way Olabisi, could not confirm the incident as he claimed that he was out
of the state.
He,
however, promised to get back to our correspondent as soon as he had
information on the accident.
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