5 feared Dead as Boat Capsizes in Bayelsa

Five persons were feared dead on Saturday in the Akenfa suburb of Yenagoa, when  canoes transporting passengers capsized, eyewitnesses said.

The eyewitnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa that the tragedy occurred when the two canoes, transporting persons from Akenfa III to Akenfa I, capsized on the Epie Creek at about 8 a.m.

NAN reports that the accident is one of the major disasters recorded due to the ravaging flood in the state in the past three weeks.

The eyewitnesses said that the two canoes collided close to where they were supposed to have berthed at Akenfa I due to panic by the passengers.

NAN learnt that the five persons, who had yet to be rescued from the creek, included a woman with a baby strapped on her back.

A NAN correspondent who visited the scene reports that a large crowd was seen at banks of the Epie Creek at Akenfa III, the take-off point, and Akenfa I, the destination.

Meanwhile some officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission who said they had received a distress call, added that  the Nigerian Navy had been notified due to the commission's handicap.

Meanwhile, the Bayelsa Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Fidelis Odunna, who confirmed the incident, however, said that three persons and the driver of one of the canoes, were missing.