Transport

Vessel with over 100 persons on board capsizes after leaving Calabar Port

A Cameroon bound vessel with over 100 persons on board, has capsized destroying gods worth millions of naira. Our correspondent learnt that the vessel left the Calabar Terminal C of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) about 7:45pm on Sunday was operated by Shoreline Logistics, before the incident occurred on the high sea on the way to Cameroon.

Sources close the company revealed that the incident was caused by overloading, adding that the had about 100 persons on board. A witnes, who simply gave her name as Felix Inyanag, said: “On the way to Cameroon it capsized on the high sea. We cannot confirm anything at this moment for now but that is what happened “There are some people on that vessel that are not on the manifest just as some children have not been found as we speak. We know that there are about 100 persons on that vessel and it was overloaded.

“Divers and other coast guards are working assiduously to make sure everyone is accounted for.” An affected merchant, Johnson Ebang, said: “We have some cargoes we are transporting but we lost it. “From what we heard, the boat capsized on the high sea and even some passengers may be missing because it happened at about 8: pm on Sunday, it will be a miracle if all on board survive. We call on the federal government to do more to ensure the safety of the passengers and the safety of the ship and the cargo. “This is not the first time this is happening. The government should do more about safety,” he stated. News Express

Pix:  Rescue from capsized vessel