From Tony Osauzo, Benin
One of the survivors of last week’s boat mishap on the Gelegele River in Ovia North-East Local Government Area of Edo State, Mrs. Mabel Sule, yesterday, in an emotion laden voice, narrated how she survived the accident with her one and half-year-old baby boy.
She told journalists that no fewer than eight passengers of the ill-fated board were drowned and that she was lucky to have survived the accident in which many others were injured.
Mrs Sule, 31, explained that she and the other 27 market women were onboard the boat enroute to Ekewan Market to sell their goods when the horrible accident happened.
She said as they moved out of the shore of Gelegele, the boat engine developed fault, explaining that huge tide swayed the faulty boat and slammed it against two badges stationed in the river which resulted to the boat capsizing and ramming under the badge.
She further explained that at the time of the accident, she was carrying her one-and-half-year baby and that she struggled to swim with the baby under the badge, hit her head against it for several times before she eventually swam out of the badge’s covering.
“As we left the shore of the Gelegele River, our engine developed a fault, but as the driver was trying to fix it, tide of the river was moving our boat, and suddenly our boat hit two badges that were stationed in the river, and we found ourselves under the badge inside the river.
“As the boat capsized, everyone started scampering for safety by swimming but unfortunately we were under the badge, so some persons couldn’t survived it as they were unable to swim out.
“I was carrying this one-and-half-year-old baby on my lap when the boat capsized and I found myself under the badge inside the river. So, I held the baby with my one hand and used the other hand to swim. But as I was swimming and trying to raise my head above the water, I hit my head against the badge repeatedly for like three times, so I went deep again and started swimming until I saw brightness of the sky while still deep in the river, that was when I raised my head. I thought my baby was already drowned, but fortunately, he survived”, Mrs Sule who spoke in her dialect stated.
She lamented that she lost all her goods to the accident and was left with nothing, appealing to the government and other good spirited Nigerians to come to her aid.
“I am left with nothing as I speak with you. Plantain worth over N200,000.00 that I was taking to Ekewan market to sell all perished in the river”, she lamented and said “I want the government of Edo State to help me so I can go back to my business. I am pleading to well to do Nigerians to help me. I need to feed , I need to feed my children.”