| Date | 7 October 2022 |
|---|---|
| Time | 11:00–12:00 [1] (WAT, UTC+01:00) |
| Location | Umunankwo, Ogbaru, Anambra State, Nigeria |
| Coordinates | 5°55′N6°42′E / 5.92°N 6.7°E |
| Type | Capsized boat |
| Deaths | 76 |
The Ogbaru boat disaster, also called the Ogbaru boat mishap or Anambra boat mishap, was the accidental sinking of a boat on the Niger River in Nigeria on 7 October 2022, causing 76 deaths. [2] It took place during the 2022 Nigeria floods.
Boat accidents are common in Nigeria; in 2021 there were major incidents in Kebbi State (killing 98) and in Kano State (killing 29). 2022 has seen severe floods in the country, exacerbated by climate change. According to Agence France Presse, "Boat accidents are common in Nigeria because of overloading, speeding, poor maintenance and disregard of traffic rules." [3]
The boat, designed for a complement of 50 people, was carrying 85 passengers fleeing the floods in the region, which had reached roof level. The captain was inexperienced, and the engine broke down. The boat struck the submerged Osamala bridge and capsized. 9 of the passengers survived, while 76 drowned. [4]
Early reports claimed that 30 people had been rescued and only about 8 lost, [5] [6] but President Muhammadu Buhari confirmed the death toll at 76. [7] [8]
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige described the Ogbaru boat mishap as a "disaster of monumental proportions." [9]
President Buhari reportedly "directed the relevant agencies to check the safety protocols on the vessels plying the waters to ensure their river-worthiness." [10] He acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), and offered prayers for the dead. [11]
Ogbaru is a local government area in Anambra State, south-central Nigeria. The area's local government headquarters is in the port city of Atani.
The Thekkady boat disaster occurred on 30 September 2009, when the double-decker passenger boat Jalakanyaka sank in Lake Thekkady, Periyar National Park, Kerala, India. When the boat capsized, 45 tourists died, most of them from Delhi and Kolkata. A total of 82 people were on the boat. The boat's helmsman, Victor Samuel, and another crew member were arrested on 5 October. It is the deadliest maritime accident reported in Kerala.
On 30 April 2012, a ferry carrying about 350 passengers capsized in the Brahmaputra River in the Dhubri district of Assam in Northeast India. The disaster killed at least 103 people.
The 2012 Nigeria floods began in early July 2012. It killed 363 people and displaced over 2.1 million people as of 5 November 2012. According to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), 30 of Nigeria's 36 states were affected by the floods and the two most affected areas were Kogi and Benue States. The floods were termed as the worst in 40 years, and affected an estimated total of seven million people. The estimated damages and losses caused by the floods was N2.6 trillion.
The ferry MV Sewol sank on the morning of April 16, 2014, en route from Incheon towards Jeju in South Korea. The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 kilometres north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST. Out of 476 passengers and crew, 304 died in the disaster, including around 250 students from Danwon High School in Ansan City. Of the 172 survivors, more than half were rescued by fishing boats and other commercial vessels that arrived at the scene approximately 40 minutes before the Korea Coast Guard (KCG).
On 15 May 2014, the double-decker ferry MV Miraj-4 capsized in the Meghna River, 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Between 150 and 200 people were on board at the time, of whom about 75 survived. As of 17 May, the official death toll stood at 54 with an unknown number of people missing.
MV Dongfang zhi Xing was a river cruise ship that operated in the Three Gorges region of inland China. On the night of 1 June 2015, the ship was traveling on the Yangtze River when it capsized during a thunderstorm in Jianli, Hubei Province with 454 people on board. On 13 June, 442 deaths were confirmed, with 12 survivors. The passengers were mostly in their 60s and 70s, and mostly from Nanjing, where the ship started its cruise.
On September 21, 2016, a boat capsized off the Egyptian coast with around 600 refugees on board in the Mediterranean Sea. 204 bodies were recovered, around 160 people were rescued, and hundreds of people remain missing, with approximately 300 people presumed dead. Four people were arrested for trafficking and breaking capacity laws. The incident was the worst in 2016 in the Mediterranean Sea.
On 14 January 2017, a boat carrying more than 40 passengers capsized in the Ganges in the Indian city of Patna, Bihar, killing 25 people. The boat was about to reach the bank when it capsized. Overloading is suspected to be the cause of the accident.
MV Nyerere is a Tanzanian ferry that capsized on 20 September 2018 while travelling between the islands of Ukerewe and Ukara on Lake Victoria. The Tanzanian government have declared that 228 people died as a result of the capsizing while 41 could be rescued. The capsized ferry was successfully righted, retrieved and unloaded more than one week after the disaster.
The Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) is a specialised unit of Odisha Police constituted "To act immediately in case of disaster which may be due to natural calamity or industrial accident" by a state home department resolution.
Joseph Blankson, also known as Joe Blankson, was a Nigerian contractor who died while saving 13 victims of a boat accident on the Abonnema-Bakana waterway in Rivers State on 28 July 2018.
On 26 May 2021, an overloaded and overcrowded vessel carrying at least 160 passengers broke into two and sank after hitting an object in the Nigerian part of the Niger River. The boat was travelling between Niger State and Wara in Kebbi State when it sank. The incident left at least 98 dead.
On 30 November 2021, a severely overloaded boat carrying more than 50 people, mostly children aged between 8 and 15, capsized on the Watari Dam in Kano State, Nigeria. At least 29 are confirmed dead and 13 more are missing.
Events in the year 2022 in Nigeria.
The 2022 Nigeria floods affected many parts of the country. From the Federal Government Data, the floods had displaced over 1.4 million people, killed over 603 people, and injured more than 2,400 persons. About 82,035 houses had been damaged, and 332,327 hectares of land had also been affected.
Events in the year 2023 in Nigeria.
On 12 June 2023, a vessel capsized and split in two in the Niger River near Pategi, Kwara State, Nigeria. The boat was carrying attendees of a wedding, who came initially on motorcycles, but were stranded due to heavy rain. At least 108 people have been confirmed dead. Dozens are missing.
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