Wednesday 20 March 2013

Wooden Boat Carrying 166 Passengers Sinks in Calabar



David Akate, the Assistant Director, Information, Cross River Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the incident to National Mirror that a wooden boat carrying 166 people about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Calabar capsized on Tuesday with only two known survivors. 

The boat which left on Friday from the remote town of Oron, in Cross River state was heading to Gabon.

As at yesterday, the mood at the morgue of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, where 45 corpses of some of the victims have been deposited was that of gloom and people thronged the hospital to try to identify the remains of loved ones.

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A Marine Transporter at the Calabar Inland Waterways, Ikechukwu Egwu confirmed the incident to National Mirror adding that the passengers of the boat were mostly Igbo traders who were travelling to Gabon. He said they boarded the wooden boat because it was cheaper.

This is so so sad,  May their souls Rest in Peace.

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