The lifeless bodies of the four out of the seven victims of the boat mishap that occurred along the Otuan, Ayama communities of Southern Ijaw Local Government council area of Bayelsa State have reportedly been recovered.
A female corps member, a pregnant woman, and a 70-year-old man were among the passengers who were suspected to have drowned following when the boat conveying them and other passengers hit a blockade and capsized.
The accident which occurred on Saturday had been blamed on bad weather, poor visibility, and a lack of life jackets for onboard passengers.
It was gathered that the corpses of the victims, particularly the female Corps Member from Rivers State, and the 70 years old Chief from Otuan, were found floating on Sunday night close to the scene of the incident.
Confirming the recovery, the State Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union, Ipigansi Ogoniba, said the union and the search teams were notified of the corpses floating on the river close to the scene of the accident.
Ogoniba said that the authorities of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) have been notified of the recovery of the corpse of the deceased female Corps member.
He added that while two others have been handed to their families for burial, the corpses of the two toddlers who were part of the boat passengers have not been found.
Meanwhile, the spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Asinim Butswat, has denied the reported arrest of the boat driver, Lucky Christopher.
Butswat said Lucky Christopher was only invited as part of the procedure in the investigation of the accident.
