Governor Charles Soludo yesterday ordered search after about 30 persons were said to be missing in a boat mishap that occurred at Umunnankwo community in the riverine Ogbaru local government area of Anambra State at the weekend.

The incident according to the chairman of the transition committee of the local government, Hon. Pascal Aniegbuna, took place on Friday.

The ill-fated boat said to be carrying about 85 persons was said to have taken off from Onukwu Bridge and was heading to the Nkwo market, Ogbakuba before it capsized and between 20 and 30 persons at the time of filing this report were said to be missing.

Sources in the area said though some of the passengers were rescued, several others lost their lives, but the exact number of those rescued and dead had not been established by yesterday.

A former House of Representatives member for Ogbaru federal constituency, Hon. Victor Afam Ogene, in a reaction expressed shock and sorrow over the incident.

Ogene, who is the Labour Party 2023 House of Representatives candidate for Ogbaru Federal Constituency, said Ogbaru was devastated, adding; "This sad news is painful to me as a person and 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 Ogbahu people and communities, who have in recent times found themselves in the jaws of severe flood disaster that has practically submerged all our communities