Eight Rescued After Boat Collision in Rivers State

On Tuesday evening, a boat mishap occurred along the Robertkiri waterways in Kula, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area, Rivers State, resulting in about ten persons feared dead. The incident involved a collision between a tugboat, operated by security personnel, and a speedboat carrying over 15 individuals.

The tugboat was attempting to retrieve a 200,000-barrel capacity oil vessel operated by the Ibeto Group, which had been accused of water pollution and failing to pay local vendors and royalties to host communities. As of Thursday, eight individuals had been rescued, but no bodies had been recovered.

Blessing Agabe, the State Police Public Relations Officer, confirmed the loss of life and stated that investigations were ongoing. The Ibeto Group, through its subsidiary Max Shipping Services Limited, denied responsibility for the incident, asserting that it had hired the vessel to Menal Technical Services Limited and did not operate the oilfield or control petroleum operations in the area.