From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Four corpses of victims of the boat mishap that occurred over the weekend at Ayama community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have been found.
The boat conveying 15 passengers from Otuan community also in Southern Ijaw was said to have run into a barricade due to poor visibility caused by bad weather.
Eight of the passengers wearing life jackets were said to have been rescued while seven passengers including two toddlers without life jackets drowned.
Sources in the community said local divers drafted to search for the bodies of the victims could not recover the bodies till they ended the search Sunday afternoon.
However, by Sunday night the bodies of the female Corps member identified as Immaculate from Rivers State and that of a 70-year-old, Chief Lucky Daniels, were found floating close to the scene of the incident.
The State Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union, Mr Ipigansi Ogoniba, confirmed that the union and the search teams were notified of the corpses of the victims floating on the River close to the scene of the accident.
Ogoniba who stated that the bodies of those from the area have been handed over to the family for burial said the bodies of the two toddlers are yet to be found.
He further disclosed that the authority of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) has been notified of the recovery of the corpse of the deceased Female Corps member.
“The NYSC State Coordinator also informed us that they have made arrangements for an ambulance to convey the deceased,” he said.
The son of the deceased Chief Daniels, Mr Domo Timi, a journalist practising in the state, confirmed that while the corpse of his father was deposited at the Niger Delta Teaching Hospital at Okolobiri, the remains of the Corps member were deposited at the Federal Medical Centre”.
Spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Mr Asinim Butswat speaking on the latest development denied t reports of the arrest of the boat driver, Mr Lucky Christopher.
He explained that Christopher was only invited as part of the procedure in the investigation of the accident.
“He was invited and questioned on the reasons why he should convey the victims during a heavy rainstorm and without life jackets.”