By George Onah
Port Harcourt—A woman lost all her four children by drowning in a midday horror when the boat they were traveling in capsized along the Opobo/Kono waterways, even as the mother of the children swam to safety without being able to save any of the children.

Vanguard learnt that their death brings to five the number of children the same woman would be losing through drowning. They were said to be traveling from Epellema Community in Opobo/Nkoro Council to Port Harcourt on holiday.

Two other men who boarded the boat at Opobo as it sailed from Epellema also got lost in the sea bringing to six the number of persons who lost their lives, last Sunday, in that single tragedy, which sent Opobo Town into deep mourning.

It was also learnt that the boat had almost arrived its destination at Kono waterside but that the boat suddenly plunged into the river while negotiating the harrowing Kono creeks overlooking the berthing point.

The bodies of the children and the men have since been recovered just as the leadership of the local government harped on the need for use of life-jackets by seafarers and repeated its earlier instructions of boats not plying the waterways when visibility is poor.

Although the cause of the accident has not been ascertained, it was however speculated that it may not be unconnected with the heavy rain at the time and may have reduced visibility, which caused the boat driver to cover all the ill-fated passengers with tarpaulin.