A wooden cargo boat, identified as ‘Godbless Dickson’, laden with cargo and over 64 passengers and crew exploded, l£aving 20 d£ad in Bayelsa waterways.

The tragic incident occurred along the Ezetu 1 community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa on Wednesday, August 7.

Confirming the incident to newsmen, ASP Musa Mohammed who is the spokesperson of the state police command, said 20 people have so far been confirmed d£ad. He added that rescue efforts by the Marine Police unit were still ongoing.

The ill-fated cargo boat laden with farm produce from the rural settlement was en route Swali market in Yenagoa.

Commenting on the incident, the Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Bayelsa Chapter, Ogoniba Ipigansi, said that a rescue team of the union, consisting of two speedboats, had been dispatched to the scene to assist the passengers on board.

He stated that the exact number of casualties was yet to be ascertained, as the rescue was still underway and several people on board were yet to be accounted for.

A speedboat operator, Mr Augustine Amayoro, who participated in rescue efforts, said he rescued 10 persons from the scene, leaving other passengers stranded in the nearby fishing camp.

It was gathered that the wooden cargo boats were exempted from the state government’s ban on night navigation on waterways.

Due to the slow pace of navigation, the cargo boats set sail a day ahead of the targeted weekly market days of Thursdays.