A commercial boat coming from down river in the Kaboro Chiefdom in the Moyamba district with some 268 passengers onboard, has reportedly capsized on the high seas, leaving 8 people confirmed dead with dozens missing along with about 39 survivors who are said to be responding to medical treatment at the Shenge hospital.
In an interview with one of the bereaved relatives, Albert Williams he explained that his first cousin Mariama Kamara ‘a lactating mother’ and his uncle’s wife were confirmed dead in the sea accident yesterday.
He explained how the boat in question left down river the day before the unfortunate occurrence yesterday but could not reach its destination at Tombo as the tide was so high that the boat captain lost control of the boat thereby resulting in the untimely disaster which claimed lives and property.
The situation he said, was so pathetic that even the boat captain one Sidi Bundu could not survive the accident.
The head of the Sierra Leone Military Navy wing D. S Mansaray disclosed that, he has already ordered Lieutenant M.K Suma to immediately undertake a search and rescue mission at the scene of the incident to help in the rescue operation.
He went on to attribute the cause of the accident to over loading coupled with bad weather but he however expressed condolence to the bereaved families.
He recommended that the Sierra Leone MariTime Administration that is responsible for safety at sea, need to adequately sensitize sea farers to use hand sets for better communication in the future to avoid any recurrence.
The Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation Osmond Hanciles maintained that the cause of the accident would be investigated, but mean while admonished all sea farers to use safety measures when travelling by sea.
By Jon-Bu
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