Ex-deputy governor survives boat mishap, as four die

                                       

A former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Peremobowei Ebebi, has survived a boat accident but unfortunately, four others were not as lucky as they drowned.

Ebebi was among the passengers in the boat that capsized in the Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state on Saturday after the state’s ward congress of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The boat mishap reportedly claimed the lives of four persons including an operative of the Department of State Service.

However, fresh facts emerged on Sunday that if not for the timely intervention of the locals, Ebebi would have also died in the boat mishap.

The DSS officer, before the incident, was attached to the office of the state Project Monitoring Department located along Imgbi Road, Bayelsa State.

He was said to have escorted the Head of the Department, Mr. Ball Oyarede -who is aspiring for a seat in the state House of Assembly – to Ekeremor LGA for the just concluded ward congress of the PDP.

Oyarede, a former Commissioner for Lands and Housing and former state Representative, Niger Delta Development Commission, is the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties.

It was learnt that while returning from the ward congress on a boat the DSS officer and Ebebi boarded at the Ekeremor Town jetty, it overturned before taking off and emptied its contents into the water.

Sources at the jetty said the scramble to rescue Ebebi led to the death of the DSS officer and three others.

One of the sources who pleaded anonymity attributed the cause of the capsize to overloading.

According to him, the boat was loaded beyond its capacity which forced it to tilt and eventually turn upside down.

He said, “Most of the dead victims were trapped in the enclosed compartment of the boat when it capsized. Immediately the incident happened, the villagers who were at the jetty dived into the water in search of Ebebi.

“Eventually, when they lifted him, he had taken in so much water and was unconscious. He was later revived. But before help could come the way of other victims, they had drowned.”

The source also said that the victims were not wearing life jackets when the incident occurred.

He confirmed that the bodies of the dead casualties were immediately recovered by local divers and were brought to Yenagoa on Saturday.

It was gathered that a crane was later hired to remove the capsized boat.

When contacted, the state Director, DSS, Mr. La’san Baba, said the service had yet to confirm the death of its officer.