Two fishermen are missing after their boat overturned near Opu-Okumbiri community in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
People in the community identified the missing men as Elder Sunday Sample Timothy and his assistant, Mr Avarada.
A community leader, Chief Saturday Akimi-Omunhuo, said the fishermen left for the sea early on Friday. He explained that the outboard engine on their boat reportedly failed while they were fishing.
He said another boat arrived to tow the damaged vessel toward the continental shelf along the Atlantic coastline. During the operation, the faulty boat overturned, throwing both fishermen into the sea.
According to him, everyone on the rescue boat returned safely, but the two fishermen could not be found.
Community members immediately began searching the coastline and nearby waterways. Although the team recovered the fishermen’s fishing equipment, the two men were still missing when this report was filed.
Chief Akimi-Omunhuo described the incident as tragic and said similar accidents had happened in coastal communities over the years.
He called on the Brass Local Government Council, the Bayelsa State Government, the Federal Government and other relevant stakeholders to provide better safety equipment, weather monitoring systems and other support for fishing communities that rely on the sea for their livelihood.
“Our people depend on fishing for survival. We need better safety measures to reduce the loss of lives on our waterways,” he said.
Search and rescue efforts were still ongoing as of the time this report was filed.
