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Tag: boat

  • Boat capsize in Congo kills 78 nationals

    Boat capsize in Congo kills 78 nationals

    A tragic ferry disaster on Lake Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has resulted in the deaths of at least 78 individuals. The vessel was nearing its destination in Goma, having departed from Minova in South Kivu, when it capsized on Thursday morning.

    Footage shared on social media captures the moment the boat leaned precariously before submerging. Reports indicate that there were 278 people on board at the time of the incident, according to a local governor.

    “It’ll take at least three days to get the exact numbers, because not all the bodies have been found yet,” Governor Jean Jacques Purisi told Reuters news agency.

    A local activist, Aaron Ashuza, who was at the scene, told the BBC he saw bodies being pulled out of the river and said the injured had been taken to hospital.

    At least two children died after they were taken to hospital after the accident, according to AFP.

    Speaking from his hospital bed, 51-year-old survivor Alfani Buroko Byamungu, told Reuters news agency that conditions on the water seemed “calm”.

    He added: “I saw people sinking, many went under. I saw women and children sinking in the water, and I myself was on the verge of drowning, but God helped me.”

    Bahati Selemani, a dock worker who took part in the rescue effort, described what happened.

    “We saw the boat start to capsize. We noticed that the boat was very overloaded and there were also strong waves,” he told AP news agency.

    “After that, the boat started to capsize little by little. Those who were upstairs started to throw themselves into the lake, and the boat capsized directly into the lake.”

    Accidents of this nature are frequent in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where overcrowding on boats is commonplace. Passengers often lack access to life jackets and many do not know how to swim, exacerbating the risks.

    The situation is further complicated by the absence of passenger manifests on some vessels, making rescue efforts challenging. This tragedy follows a recent incident where more than 100 people perished while traveling on the Niger River.

  • Boat operator arrested following River Oti drowning incident

    Boat operator arrested following River Oti drowning incident

    Police in Dambai have arrested the operator of the boat involved in the accident on the Oti River that occurred on Wednesday.

    Three individuals drowned, and seven others were rescued after the boat capsized in windy conditions.

    The Assembly Member for the Dambai Lakeside Electoral Area, Emmanuel Atali, informed Citi News that the boat owner has been detained, and investigations are ongoing.

    “We are still looking for the dead body but the police have arrested the boat operator, who was driving the boat when the incident happened.

    “As I am speaking now, people are still looking for the dead body. They have to let him [the boat operator] write his statement because he is the one who knows where the accident happened.”

    He added that the search party is still patrolling to recover the bodies of the deceased, while those who were rescued are recovering.

    “All the people that were rescued are now recovering. All of them are in good condition.”

  • Update: 3 missing after Oti River boat accident

    Update: 3 missing after Oti River boat accident

    Three individuals are missing after a canoe they were travelling in capsized on Tuesday evening on the Oti River in Dambai.

    The incident occurred as the boat, carrying 11 passengers from Dambai, was en route to Njari, a farming and fishing community in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region.

    Eight people have been rescued, but the search continues for the remaining three individuals. The tragic event has raised concerns among locals who have been forced to use canoes for river crossings due to the breakdown of the only ferry serving the Oti River.

    Travellers have called for urgent measures to either secure a replacement ferry or construct a bridge over the river to ensure safer passage.

    In response to the incident, a rescue operation has been launched involving Navy officials and local boat operators, who are working diligently to locate the missing passengers.

    The community remains hopeful as efforts to find the missing individuals continue.

  • 11 drown in River Oti, 5 missing after boat accident

    11 drown in River Oti, 5 missing after boat accident

    On Tuesday evening, eleven people, including two minors, lost their lives when a boat they were travelling in capsized on the Oti River.

    The accident occurred as the boat, which had departed from Dambai and was headed towards Njari, a farming and fishing community under the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region, overturned.

    Reports indicate that six individuals have been rescued so far, while five others remain missing.

    The Assembly member of Dambai Lakeside, Mr. Emmanuel Atali, stated that a swift rescue operation was launched by Navy officials and local boat operators following the incident.

    Four women, including a baby girl, were immediately found and rushed to the Dambai Health Centre for intensive care.

    The passengers on board the ill-fated boat were reportedly returning from the Dambai market, which is active every Monday and Tuesday.

    The Chairman of Boat Operators, Mr. Clement Kwasi Checki, expressed deep grief over the incident, highlighting the community’s shock and sorrow at the loss of lives in the tragic event.

    Authorities are continuing their search and rescue efforts to locate the remaining missing persons.

  • Fishing boat sinks near Ada West; one reported dead

    Fishing boat sinks near Ada West; one reported dead

    One person has been reported dead after a fishing boat capsized near the Ada West District in the Greater Accra Region.

    The National Disaster Management Organization in the Ada West District provided this information.

    The incident occurred on Wednesday, May 29, when a boat carrying ten individuals developed a leak and sank.

    Initially, four of the ten individuals, including two Ghanaians, were reported missing. However, three people were later rescued.

    Sadly, one person was found dead, and the remains have been taken to the morgue.

  • Capsized boat off Djibouti Coast kills 16, 28 missing

    Capsized boat off Djibouti Coast kills 16, 28 missing


    Sixteen people have died and 28 others are missing after a boat carrying 77 passengers capsized off the coast of Djibouti.

    This is the second incident of its kind in two weeks, according to the United Nations migration agency.

    The boat was carrying children as well, reported the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on social media.

    Rescue efforts are being assisted by the IOM’s office in Djibouti.

    This incident follows another shipwreck two weeks ago, where at least 38 people, including children, lost their lives off the Djibouti coast.

  • Nigeria: 103 wedding guests die in capsized boat

    Nigeria: 103 wedding guests die in capsized boat

    The overcrowded boat that overturned early on Monday on the Niger River in the Pategi region of Kwara state, is still being searched for by locals and police, according to police spokesperson Okasanmi Ajayi.

    He said 100 people had been rescued so far.

    Most of those who drowned were relatives from several villages who attended the wedding together and partied late into the night, according to Abdul Gana Lukpada, a local chief. They arrived at the ceremony on motorcycles but had to leave on the locally made boat after a downpour flooded the road, he said.

    “The boat was overloaded and close to 300 persons were in it. While they were coming, the boat hit a big log inside the water and split into two,” said Lukpada.

    The wedding was held in the village of Egboti in the neighboring Niger state, said Usman Ibrahim, a resident. Because the accident happened at 3 a.m., it was hours before many people knew what had happened, he said.

    As the passengers drowned, villagers nearby rushed to the scene and managed to rescue about 50 at first, Lukpada said, describing early efforts to rescue the passengers as slow and “very difficult.”

    As of Tuesday afternoon, officials and locals were still searching for more bodies in the river, which is one of Nigeria’s largest. Police spokesman Ajayi said the rescue operation would continue through the night until Wednesday.

    Locals said it was the deadliest boat accident they have seen in many years.

    By Tuesday evening, all the bodies recovered so far had been buried, most near the river, in accordance with local customs, Lukpada said.

    Kwara Gov. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s office issued a statement expressing sadness for the families of those killed and saying that he “continues to monitor the rescue efforts already mounted since Monday night in search of possible survivors.”

    Boat accidents are common in many remote communities across Nigeria, where locally made vessels are commonly used for transport. Most accidents are attributed to overloading and the use of poorly maintained boats.

  • Boat disaster on Black Volta claims one life, 5 others missing

    A tragic boat accident occurred on the Black Volta in the Savannah Region, resulting in the death of one individual and approximately five others reported as missing.

    The incident took place when a boat carrying passengers from Dorkorchina to Kpandai capsized, allegedly due to overloading.

    Mr. Kipo Sulemana, the Bole District Director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), verified the occurrence to Citi News on Saturday, May 27.

    According to his statement, one person lost their life, two individuals survived the incident, and approximately five others are still unaccounted for.

    “They were traders who were coming from the northern part of the Bono side across to their villages, and they are always around the riverside up to the Côte d’Ivoire boundary. These people were coming from the northern side and when they got to a point, their canoe capsized. We recorded one death, a lady. The ladies were two with three men and the one who was driving the engine boat is yet to be recovered to know whether he is alive or not.”

    NADMO also disclosed that the boat was loaded with the victims and goods at the time the accident happened.

    Mr. Sulemana had earlier told the Ghana News Agency that the part of the lake where they were travelling was littered with tree stumps which allegedly caused the accident.

    He said where the incident happened was inaccessible, adding NADMO was relying on local people to help rescue those missing.

  • More than 20 displaced as hippo hits boat in Southern Malawi

    More than 20 displaced as hippo hits boat in Southern Malawi

    In Malawi, at least 20 individuals are still unaccounted for after their canoe capsized on the Shire River in the southern Nsanje district after being struck by a hippo.

    Robert Nayeja, a senior official in Nsanje District, said the canoe was carrying about 37 people going to their fields on the Mozambican side, state-owned MBC TV reported.

    A body of an infant, who was among the passengers, has been retrieved.

    Agnes Zalakoma, a senior police officer, has told the VOA that the death toll is expected to rise as detectives and rescue teams search for the missing people. So far, 13 people have been rescued.

    A lawmaker for the area said the river was infested with crocodiles and hippos and the boats operating there were not motorboats.

    The boat mishap is the third deadly accident on the river in three years.

    Malawi is recovering from a devastating tropical storm in March that killed 511 people and left 533 others missing.

  • Boat accident in Nigeria leaves 15 children dead, 25 others missing

    Boat accident in Nigeria leaves 15 children dead, 25 others missing

    Tragically, 15 children have drowned and 25 others went missing after an overcrowded boat capsized on the Shagari river in Nigeria’s Sokoto state.

    The boat was carrying children who were on their way to collect firewood in the bush on Tuesday morning. According to Aliyu Abubakar, the political administrator of Shagari district, the incident happened on the other side of the river.

    Eyewitness accounts reveal that the boat was overloaded with over 40 girls onboard, leading to the capsizing of the boat. Although 15 corpses have been recovered, local divers are still searching for the other victims.

    Local authorities confirm the incident, prepare for burials

    The chairman of Shagari Local Government Area, Aliyu Abubakar, confirmed the incident and expressed deep condolences to the families of the victims. He stated that the bodies of the victims have been recovered and are being prepared for burial.

    At the time of filing this report, local divers and authorities have not confirmed any survivors. The boat, which was carrying over 40 girls, resulted in the recovery of only 15 dead bodies with 25 still missing. The divers are currently conducting search and rescue operations to locate the missing girls.

  • Tunisia: 10 migrants from Africa perish as boat capsizes

    Tunisia: 10 migrants from Africa perish as boat capsizes

    Ten migrants from sub-Saharan Africa who were trying to enter Europe illegally perished after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia, according to the Tunisian coast guard on Wednesday.

    “Seventy-two migrants were rescued and ten bodies were recovered after the sinking of the boat on Tuesday” off Sfax in east-central Tunisia, National Guard spokesman Houssem Jebabli told AFP, saying the dead were nationals of sub-Saharan African countries.

    In a statement, the National Guard said Tuesday to have foiled “two operations of illegal crossing of maritime borders”, that off Sfax and a second in the north of the country.

    In total, 76 migrants including only four Tunisians were rescued

    In addition to the ten dead, “between 20 and 30” other African migrants are missing after the shipwreck off the coast of Sfax, told AFP the spokesman for the local court investigating this drama, Faouzi Masmoudi,

    Twenty-seven migrants from sub-Saharan Africa had died or are missing after two other shipwrecks Friday and Saturday off Tunisia.

    At the end of March, the bodies of 29 other migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were recovered after three separate shipwrecks off the coast of Tunisia.

    Tunisia, whose coastline is less than 150 km from the Italian island of Lampedusa, regularly records attempts by migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African countries, to leave for Italy.

    The departures intensified after a violent speech on February 21 by Tunisian President Kais Saied, who denounced illegal immigration.

    Saied said the presence in Tunisia of “hordes” of illegal immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa was a source of “violence and crime” and a “criminal enterprise” aimed at “changing the demographic composition” of the country.

    After this speech, a significant portion of the 21,000 sub-Saharan Africans officially registered in Tunisia, most of whom were in an irregular situation, lost their jobs, usually informal, and their housing overnight as a result of the campaign against illegal immigrants. Most African migrants arrive in Tunisia and then attempt to immigrate illegally by sea to Europe.

    On Friday, the National Guard announced that it had rescued or intercepted “14,406 people, 13,138 of whom were from sub-Saharan Africa, the rest being Tunisians,” in the first three months of the year, more than five times the number recorded for the same period in 2022.

  • Boat transporting mourners capsizes on Volta Lake

    Boat transporting mourners capsizes on Volta Lake

    In the Volta Region, a boat conveying mourners from Azizazanya to Azizakpe has capsized.

    Five of the over 20 passengers on-board have been confirmed dead while a rescue mission is ongoing to save the rest.

    Assembly member of Azizakpe Electoral Area, Daniel Adzakpa, confirmed the disaster to 3news.com.

    He said there was a storm Saturday morning as the boat was ferrying the mourners to a funeral in Azizakpe and that caused the capsizing.

    The Assembly member said the boat should have carried approximately 25 passengers but he gathered there were more on-board.

    “The boat was overloaded,” he stated on TV3‘s Midday Live on Saturday, March 18.

    Hundreds of residents including other mourners were seen praying for good news as the rescue mission was carried out.

    Mostly women, the residents were standing on the banks of the river shouting out prayers for the missing to be found.

  • Over 20 migrants die as boat sinks off Madagascar

    Over 20 migrants die as boat sinks off Madagascar

    A boat carrying 47 persons that capsized off the coast of Madagascar on its way to the French island of Mayotte resulted in the deaths of 22 migrants.

    The search for two remaining missing people is still ongoing, while 23 people were saved, according to the marine agency for Madagascar.

    According to the CIA, the migrants secretly boarded the boat in Mayotte. It was stated that the incident took place on Saturday.

    Most of those who were rescued had fled to avoid being arrested, the Reuters news agency quoted a police officer as saying.

  • 14 dead, 54 rescued off Tunisia’s migrant boat sank

    14 dead, 54 rescued off Tunisia’s migrant boat sank

      Two boats capsized off the coast of Tunisia on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in the rescue of 54 persons. Authorities reported 14 deaths on Thursday (Mar. 9).

      The National Guard claimed that the migrants were from sub-Saharan Africa but could not revealing their countries,

      Notwithstanding the fact that the central Mediterranean is the most perilous migratory route, according to the International Organization for Migration, people fleeing conflict or poverty embark aboard boats from Tunisian ports bound for Europe.

      “When sub-Saharans came to Tunisia, it was because of the economic and social situation they were suffering in their country, lawyer Hamida Chaieb explains. “Their main objective is to cross to Europe. Like our (Tunisian) youth who dream of a better life,” the Tunisian League for Human Rights member adds.

      “Reduce irregular immigration”

      Tunisian authorities have stepped up arrests of Africans without residency papers in recent weeks after President linked migrants to crimes. The comments fanned a surge in attacks targeting Black Africans.

      “They (the authorities) don’t want to let us go. If it’s like that, (let) us go back to Italy. We have neither our fathers nor our mothers, if that’s the way it is let us go back (to Italy),” an Ivorian migrant says.

      In Brussels, EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson expressed concern on Thursday about the president’s statements, saying they are “very worrying,” but underlined Tunisia’s role in helping prevent migrants reaching Europe.

      “Tunisia is a core country for cooperation when it comes to preventing smuggling but also when it comes to readmission of Tunisian citizens that come here and are not eligible for international protection,” she told reporters.

      Tunisians were among the top three nationalities — along with Egyptians and Bangladeshis — to reach Europe last year after crossing from the North African coast.

      Last January, Italy’s top diplomat reiterated to his Tunisian counterpart Roma’s objective “to reduce irregular immigration”.

    • The biggest party boat launches on River Volta

      The biggest party boat launches on River Volta

      Weighing in at 2.5 tonnes in a white-and-orange coloured beauty, and powered by twin 60HP engines, the Trident is a cruise boat named after an island of the same name.

      The Trident is a quality adventure Island ran by BraveHearts Expeditions Limited, a leading outdoor adventure and experiential learning company. It is located at Akwamufie near the Adomi Bridge in the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region.

      The double-decker cruise boat will run day and night cruises beginning on Sunday, February 12, 2023 and will host a maximum of 20 non-crew passengers per cruise. The boat is 36-feet long with a 12-feet wide deck and stands at a height of 14 feet.

      “Each cruise will last a total of 90 minutes, and the boat will first detour at the base of the Akosombo Dam through the Akwamu Gorge when it casts off from the reception of the Trident,” says JayJay Addo-Koranteng, Executive Officer of BraveHearts Expeditions.

      “From the dam, it will sail at full throttle across the 8.5km expanse of River Volta’s course to the Adomi Bridge before it goes about at the bridge to the reception of the Trident.”

      The cruise boat was built in Ghana by Benlex Engineering and Marine Systems as a Landing Craft, and is the most stable riverine vessel on River Volta, packing a maximum speed of 25 knots.

      “We absolutely did not want to import a boat,” Mr. Addo-Koranteng mentioned to Graphic Showbiz about why his company chose to make the boat in Ghana.

      “We felt that we understood enough of nautical engineering and naval architecture to have it built here. Besides, if it was a matter of certification, the Ghana Maritime Authority has all the competence to guide and authorise construction of seaworthy and river-worthy vessels. Building it in Ghana created jobs, as well as good opportunities for anyone that can afford it to own a boat,” he stated.

      BraveHearts Expeditions’ Trident Island business offers hiking, abseiling, kayaking and paintballing adventures to customers of all ages, and is the most interactive island adventure location in Ghana.

      With the addition of the highly customer-friendly cruise boat, the company maintains its reputation as the most forward-looking adventure company in Ghana, and is on course to make Akwamufie the home of all advanced water and mountaineering sports activities in West Africa.

    • Channel migrants: Ninety rescued from small boats

      Migrants lead away in DoverImage copyrightPA MEDIA
      Image captionChildren appeared to be among migrants lead to an ambulance in Dover

      Ninety migrants including children have been rescued from the English Channel, a record figure for a single day.

      Eight small boats were earlier reported off the coast of Dover, one of which was carrying a group of 21 men.

      Fifteen of the 90 “claimed to be minors”, the Home Office said as it confirmed those rescued included nationals of Syria, Yemen and Mali.

      The migrants will be “dealt with according to immigration rules”, it added.

      The rescued children, subject to age assessment, will be transferred into the care of social services.

      Migrants in DoverImage copyrightPA MEDIA
      Image captionAn ambulance was on hand to assess the health of those who crossed the Channel

      Six boats were intercepted in the Channel by Border Force, with a group of five migrants found by police in Dover town centre and another five people found in Samphire Hoe.

      RNLI lifeboats from Dover and Littlestone and a fixed wing aircraft and HM Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopter from Lydd were scrambled this morning.

      Home Office vessels Searcher, Speedwell and Alert were sent to intercept the boats.

      Tony Eastaugh, Home Office director for crime and enforcement, said the government was “tackling illegal migrant crossings on all fronts with every agency”.

      Patrols of French beaches have been increased, with the use of drones, specialist vehicles and detection equipment, he said.

      Last year at least 1,892 arrived in Britain after crossing the Channel in boats.

      French authorities have said 371 migrants attempted the crossing last month, with 95 of them succeeding.

      SearcherImage copyrightPA MEDIA
      Image captionTwo boats carrying 26 men were met by Border Force in the ChannelSource: bbc.com