A 19-year-old girl is missing after a canoe carrying passengers from Sandfill II capsized following a collision with an engine boat at NPA Waterside in Warri, Delta State.
The accident happened on Friday afternoon when the canoe collided mid-stream with a wooden engine boat carrying several passengers.
Eyewitnesses said the impact threw occupants into the river. Divers and local fishermen are still searching the NPA river for the body of Chinaza, the missing teenager.
Chinaza, who could not swim, reportedly sank immediately after the collision. A 7-year-old boy who was on the same boat with his mother and sibling survived by swimming to safety.
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Miss Favour, a friend of the missing girl who was also on the ill-fated canoe, said the engine boat driver reported himself to the Marine Police at the Nigerian Ports Authority and was taken into custody for questioning. “The driver weh jam us report himself to marine police,” she told reporters.
Rescue efforts were still ongoing at press time as local divers combed the river for Chinaza’s body. Authorities have not yet released an official statement on the incident.
The tragedy has renewed calls for stricter safety enforcement on Warri waterways. Residents are urging authorities to make life jackets mandatory and regulate boat speed to prevent further loss of life on the busy route.
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