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AN unspecified number of people were feared dead weekend when an engine boat carrying 85 persons capsized at Umunankwo in Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State.
It was gathered that 76 of the passengers were still missing, adding that the engine boat took off from Onukwu Bridge and was heading to Nkwo market, Ogbakuba before it capsized.
Transition committee chairman of Ogbaru, Pascal Aniegbuna said, “while some of the passengers were rescued, several others, unfortunately lost their lives.”
An official of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, said: “The engine boat that loaded about 85 passengers at Onukwu bridge Ossomala enroute to Nkwo Ogbakuba market capsized this morning. Only 9 passengers were rescued, the rest are yet to be seen.
A former House of Representatives member from the area, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, expressed shock and deep sorrow over the development which he said claimed the lives of several people.
He said, “This sad news of this terrible accident is numbing and painful to me as a person and must be very devastating, especially to the immediate families of the victims. This is a collective loss for Ogbaru as a whole and we are united in sorrow.
“My condolences go to the affected families and also Ogbaru people and communities, who have in recent times found themselves in the jaws of severe flood disaster that has practically submerged all our communities and displaced thousands of people.”
