By Gift Habib
South African authorities have confirmed the rescue of 12 crew members from a Nigerian tugboat that sank off the country’s coast late Saturday night, with one person confirmed dead and five others still missing.
The tugboat, identified as LEO, was said to have had 18 persons on board. It had reportedly travelled to South Africa for repairs but ran aground about 18 nautical miles offshore in stormy waters between Cape Town and Durban while on its return voyage to Lagos.
The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed on Monday that the South African Ministry of Transportation had formally notified Nigerian authorities of the incident.
In a statement issued in Abuja by her Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Magnus Eze, the minister said one fatality had been recorded, while search and rescue operations were ongoing for the five missing crew members.
“The South Africa Ministry of Transportation informed us of this development.
“The South African Maritime Safety Authority has also informed that survivors are presently being conveyed to Port Elizabeth, where officials from the Nigeria High Commission are on their way to receive them,” the statement quoted the minister as saying.
Further details are expected as rescue and recovery efforts continue.
