The incident brings to 31 the number of reported dead from boat mishaps on the Bonny Island waterway in the last nine years, according to a tally by PREMIUM TIMES.
Eleven people died on Monday when two wooden fishing boats they were travelling in capsized due to turbulent waves in Bonny Rivers in Rivers State.
Five of the victims were infants and members of the same family, Vanguard newspaper reported.
The fishing boats were ferrying indigenes of Ngo Town, Ataba, Isiama and other communities in Andoni to Bonny Island from Ngo in Andoni Local Government Area of the state.
According to Vanguard, over twenty-five people were in the two fishing boats when they were struck by a heavy wave.
A relative of one of the survivors told the newspaper only 14 people were rescued by a rescue team said to have arrived hours after the boats had capsized.
"The fishing boat, which is the only source of livelihood for Mr Promise Festus from Ngo, carried 25 passengers, including his wife, Rose Promise, four of his children and his little grandchild, departed Ngo town to Bonny, their settlement, around 2 p.m., Monday.
"While travelling, the boat was struck by a heavy wave around the Bonny River, which destroyed the big boat.
"As at when this unfortunate incident occurred there were no rescue team to save the 25 passengers on board. Hours later when the rescue team came, 11 passengers had drowned while 14 passengers including Festus and his wife were rescued."
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Vanguard reported that out of the 11 dead, five were the children and the little grandchild of Mr Festus.
The incident brings to 31 the number of reported dead from boat mishaps on the Bonny Island waterway in the last nine years, according to a tally by this newspaper.
The Sun newspaper in November 2018 reported how two students and an aged woman were drowned in the stormy Bonny River in the state. The incident angered members of the community who claimed the accident could have been avoided as the boat took off against stormy weather and current.
In April 2017, the Daily Post reported that seven persons died in a boat accident in the Bonny waterway in the state, an accident that was attributed to the carelessness of the driver whom the newspaper said drove against the tide.
The Nation newspaper in 2014 reported how 10 people including two kids died in a boat accident while seven others including an NYSC member were missing. According to the newspaper, 18 of the 38 passengers, including four NYSC members, were rescued in a boat that was meant for 28 passengers.
