A naval rating has died in a boat mishap involving a barge belonging to a ship repair and building company, Southern Engineering Co. Ltd (SECO) and an unidentified speed boat along the River Onitsha channel of Anambra State
The corpse of the deceased naval rating was recovered five days after the tragic incident by the operatives of NNS Soroh along Olugbobiri Creek in Southern-Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
It was gathered that the deceased naval rating fell into the water while on escort duty onboard SECO barge, which was involved in a head-on collision with a speed boat.
According to Vanguard, the source said the incident occurred on September 3, 2022, at 8p.m. but his corpse was recovered by the combined rescue team of Navy and fishermen on September 8, 2022 in Bayelsa.
The source added that the recovered corpse had been deposited at the Nigerian Navy Referral Hospital in Warri, Delta State.
A Naval source, who pleaded anonymity, said the incident was attributed to non-use of life jacket and helmet by the deceased Naval rating while poor visibility on the waters made the rescue operation difficult and could have been easily spotted with reflective colour of the life jacket it was worn.
Spokesman of NNS Soroh, Lt. Commander, Ola Babatunde, confirmed the recovery of the corpse of the Naval rating but declined to make further comment.
Discussion about this post