The Nigerian Navy troops have rescued 99 passengers from drowning, following a boat accident at the Bukuma River in Degema Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers.
Commodore Cajethan Aniaku, Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder, Port Harcourt, announced the development in a statement issued by the Base spokesperson, Lt.-Cdr. Bridget Bebia, on Wednesday.
He explained that the wooden boat, named ‘Blood of Jesus,’ was carrying both passengers and goods from Port Harcourt to Akuku-Toru LGA when it collided with a barge.
“The barge, Damen Buba, had a head-on collision with the ‘market boat’ en route to the Akuku-Toru area, resulting in significant structural damage to the boat.
“The incident occurred on April 29 at about 10:55 a.m. in the Tuma area, about 300 meters from Naval Security Station 035, Degema LGA, Rivers,” he stated.
Aniaku reported that upon receiving a distress call regarding the passengers in danger of drowning, the Navy promptly deployed four gunboats to carry out a search and rescue operation.
“Troops swiftly arrived at the scene of the collision and successfully rescued all 99 passengers from the river, despite the challenging conditions faced during the operation.
“Fortunately, no fatalities or injuries were recorded during the rescue,” he added.
