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Man reveals how he escaped boat mishap, mourns with victims’ families

Yenagoa—A young man residing in Yenagoa has opened up on his experience following the disastrous boat mishap that occurred along the Okoroma axis in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State that claimed lives and items worth millions of naira.

Although efforts are still ongoing to recover more bodies, Mangrovepen.ng has gathered that not fewer than six corpses, including that of a toddler, have been recovered since the boat capsized last Thursday en route to Okpoama in Brass LGA.

The young man who identified himself as Felix in a telephone interview with our reporter described his experience as “a heavy testimony in my life.”

Felix, an indigene of Owhelogbo in Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta state, averred that “I called my friend who was on the boat and checked when the incident happened and I found out it happened today. He told me he was fine.

“Meanwhile, both of us were supposed to go on the trip together. But I later changed my mind. I don’t even know why I changed my mind.

“I called him and he said he was on the boat when it capsized. I don’t even know how to swim. If I had followed him, where would I have been?”

He sympathized with the families of the deceased and prayed for God to comfort them for their loss.

“Governments at all levels should safeguard travellers and traders who use the waterways to prevent a similar occurrence,” he admonished.

The unfortunate boat incident sparked a mass reaction from different quarters with the state government and several stakeholders calling on the waterways authority and other relevant agencies to adhere to maritime laws in a bid to forestall a recurrence.

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