Tragedy: Eight drown in Opobo river

Tragedy has struck the ancient town of Opobo in Opobo Nkoro Local Government area of Rivers state as eight persons including three children lost their lives when the speedboat in which they were travelling capsized in the middle- river sea last week.
According to one of the survivors, from John Africa Compound, in Opobo, who pleaded for anonymity but spoke to Shipping Position Weekly in Opobo town, the boat left the town early in the morning with the normal 12 passengers, including three children on board, but as they approached Kono waterside, the speedboat suddenly stopped.
According to him, it was like an unseen hand held stopped the boat even though, the engine was still running. The boat started spinning around before finally capsizing. He said that he (the survivor) grabbed the fuel container with which he managed to swim to the bank of the river which is  about 30 meters away.  Contrary to maritime regulations and council guidelines, none of the occupants of the boat had a life jacket on.
The Jaja family in Opobo was one of the worst hit as it lost five persons to the early morning mishap. This includes a young man (names withheld) who lost his life and that of his two children.
He was said to be based in Warri, Delta state, and had come home with his two children who were visiting their father’s home for the first time, and his driver, who was among the survivors.  Their vehicle (a Jeep) was parked at Kono waterside, and they were on their way back to Warri, when the sad incident occurred.
Speaking to Shipping Position Weekly in Opobo Town, chairman of the council, Hon. Macleans Uranta and press secretary Paul Ben-Cookey described the incident as very unfortunate. Hon. Uranta blamed the speedboat driver for disobeying the simple rules put in place to forestall such incidences. He said no boat is expected to leave before six o’clock in the morning, but the driver left Opobo waterside by about 5:25 am.
Also each passenger was expected to be put on a life jacket, but none of the passengers was given a life jacket. “We bought 250 life jackets for use by passengers,” he said. Meanwhile the boat driver was said to have reported himself at Ikot Abasi police station from where he was transferred to Bori police station, where he is currently being held.