Four persons have been reported missing following a boat incident in Delta state on Saturday March 9th, 2019. The accident occurred during the Governorship and House of Assembly elections, between Koko and Ologbo Creek around Benin River, Warri North Local Government Area of the state.
The boat was said to have been loaded with 22 passengers which comprised 19 community people and 3 policemen returning from election duty in Ebrohimi community. They were headed to Koko, the administrative headquarters of Warri North Local Government.
Search of the capsized boat shows four missing
ASP Chucks Orisewezie, The Acting Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state confirmed the incident to newsmen on Sunday in Warri. In his words:
A boat loaded with 22 persons which left Ebrohimi community and headed for Koko capsized around Ureju community at about 01:20 hours.
Eighteen persons, including the three policemen have been rescued, while search is still on for the remaining four missing persons. Two of the rescued victims have been taken to the hospital for medical care.
I must clarify that there were no Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff or NYSC members on board just as there were no election materials in the boat. Investigation into the incident is already on,” Orisewezie state.
Adding to this, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Delta State, Dr Cyril Omorogbe, reported that INEC ad-hoc staffs were involved in the boat accident but where all safe.
“I understand that my staff members and ad-hoc staff were not involved. They are safe. I don’t think the mishap affected the materials because it happened later in the day, from what I know,”
The 2019 elections have witnessed several tragic incidents
Adding up to this, the Former Chief of Staff, Government House and Chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Solomon Areyenka, the Eson of Warri kingdom, also confirmed the sad incident to the media, stating that the governor Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa had also ordered a search team for the four missing persons immediately.
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