By Deborah Musa
South African authorities have rescued 12 crew members from a Nigerian tugboat that sank off the country’s coast late Saturday night, while one person has been confirmed dead and five remain missing.
The tugboat, named LEO, had 18 people on board. It had travelled to South Africa for repairs but reportedly ran aground about 18 nautical miles offshore in stormy waters between Cape Town and Durban during its return voyage to Lagos.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed on Monday that the South African Ministry of Transportation had informed Nigerian authorities of the incident.
According to a statement issued in Abuja by the minister’s Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Dr. Magnus Eze, one crew member has been confirmed dead, while search operations continue for the five missing persons.
“The South African Ministry of Transportation informed us of this development,” the statement said.
Eze added that the South African Maritime Safety Authority confirmed that the rescued crew members were being conveyed to Port Elizabeth, where officials of the Nigerian High Commission were on their way to receive them.
Further details are expected as rescue and recovery efforts continue.
