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A serving member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and a personnel of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were confirmed to have drowned along the waterways of Southern Ijaw Council of Bayelsa State.
While the corps member serving at Okpotuwari community in Southern Ijaw lost his life in a boat mishap that occurred about 2pm on Thursday at the jetty in the community, the NSCDC personnel was confirmed dead on Wednesday during an operational duty along the Lorbia area of the Southern Ijaw waterway when the boat conveying the patrol team collided with another boat during a chase of suspected oil pipeline vandals.
Although the identity of the deceased, a male, from Anambra State and that of his colleagues, who survived, could not be ascertained, eyewitnesses said the incident occurred when the local canoe conveying them across the river separating the sister communities of Okpotuwari and Ondewari capsized, with all the occupants thrown overboard.
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While community folks rescued two of the victims alive, the third was not that lucky, as he was said to have drowned.
The corps members were said to have crossed over to Ondewari community and were returning to their base in the ill-fatted canoe when tragedy struck.
A community source said the youth handling the boat conveying them lost control of the canoe on getting close to the jetty due the high current, causing it to capsize.
Contacted, the state coordinator of the NYSC, Mr. Anthony Ekeocha, said though he heard of the news on Wednesday night through the Southern Ijaw Zonal Council Inspector, he was yet to get details of the incident.
