Community has been thrown to panic as 76 persons were reported missing as engine boat carrying 85 persons capsized at Umunankwo in Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State.

Wakadaily learnt the the boat took off from Onukwu Bridge and was heading to Nkwo market, Ogbakuba in Ogbaru, before it capsized. 

Confirming the incident an official of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, said: “The engine boat that loaded about 85 passengers at Onukwu bridge Ossomala enroute to Nkwo Ogbakuba market capsized this morning. Only 9 passengers were rescued, the rest are yet to be seen. I wasn’t there when the boat loaded but the information we got unofficially is that it loaded 85.”

Victor Afam Ogene, a former House of Representatives member expressed shock and deep sorrow over the development that claimed the lives of several people.

He said, “This sad news of this terrible accident is numbing and painful to me as a person and must be very devastating, especially to the immediate families of the victims. This is a collective loss for Ogbaru as a whole and we are united in sorrow.

“My condolences go to the affected families and also Ogbaru people and communities, who have in recent times found themselves in the jaws of severe flood disaster that has practically submerged all our communities and displaced thousands of people.”