A passenger boat carrying seven persons capsized at Aliya (Over Bridge) in Ahoada Town, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State on Saturday, June 27, leaving two siblings de@d.
The victims, identified as 25-year-old Mekalachi Gogochuri and 23-year-old Rejoice Gogochuri, reportedly drowned after the boat overturned at about 7:45 p.m. while they were returning home from work.
Speaking to journalists, the victims’ elder brother, Abraham Gogochuri, said the siblings had boarded the boat to cross the river because an ongoing construction work, made it the most accessible route to their home.
‘’They were coming back from work, and there is a route we normally take to our house at Aliya (Over Bridge), Ahoada, in Ahoada East Local Government Area. A construction company is working there, so they boarded a boat to cross the river, but the boat capsized, and two of them drowned.
Although there were about seven people in the boat, only the two of them drowned. The boat was not in good condition, and there were no life jackets. That was what led to their de@th,” he said
Abraham described the vessel as an ordinary wooden canoe propelled by paddles, alleging that it was already in a deplorable condition before the journey commenced. According to him, the canoe had been leaking profusely, with wrappers used to patch some of the holes to minimise water entering the vessel.
“It was just a normal canoe paddled by hand. We are blaming the company handling the construction work because they failed to provide adequate facilities, including strong and durable boats and life jackets.
The boat they boarded was seriously leaking. They had covered parts of it with wrappers to reduce the leakage, but these boats have been in poor condition for a long time” Abraham said
He further disclosed that officers from the Ahoada Police Division visited the family on Sunday as part of efforts to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Abraham also expressed concern over the collapse of a monkey bridge that once served residents in the area, noting that its failure to be reconstructed had left many with no option but to rely on unsafe boats for transportation.
“There was a monkey bridge constructed before now, but it collapsed, and up till today, nothing has been done to reconstruct it. That is what has forced people to use these boats. I am calling on the appropriate authorities to investigate why there was no safer alternative route for residents travelling to Aliya (Over Bridge). We want justice for my late brother and sister,” he said