Following the Calabar Marine Resort boat disaster, the Government of Cross River State, has suspended leisure cruise in the resort, indefinitely.
The State Governor Bassey Otu, issued the ban, after a boat accident occurred on the Calabar waterways on Saturday, June 24, 2023, of which 3 medical students were declared missing.
The ban was contained in a press release issued by the spokesperson for the Governor, Emmanuel Ogbeche.
The governor has also directed the state Ministry of Transport to undertake total safety standard evaluation to ascertain the conditions of all boats under their management and those operating in the Calabar waterways.
A meeting has also been fixed by the governor, for Tuesday, to meet with cruise boat operators and the management of the State Tourism Bureau .
“Besides the cruise boat operations, the State Ministry of Transport is to immediately cross-check the safety standards and conditions of all boats operating in the Calabar waterways,” Ogbeche said.
The governor has issued a statement to deal decisively with anyone found to have compromised the safety standards in the management of the operations of the waterways and speed boats.
“The news of a cruise boat mishap at the Marina Resort, a tourist and relaxation destination in Calabar, is saddening and calls for concern not only as your governor but as a parent,” he said.
“To imagine that the boat was overcrowded and some of those on it were without life jackets is of even greater concern and the more reason why the state government will be investigating the incident and all those found culpable of having compromised on safety standards will face the wrath of the law.
“As a government, our administration remains committed to protecting the sanctity of life and providing an enabling environment for business, tourism, and peaceable living. Therefore, any untoward action that could derail our objective will not be tolerated.”
Sequel to the. incident, the leadership of Nigerian Medical Students Association (NIMSA) has laid the blame of the mishap solely on the management of Marina Resort Calabar, which led to the drowning of their colleagues.
Distraught while speaking to the press, the national president of NIMSA, Egim Egbe, blame the Marina Resort management for the incident.
“This ugly, avoidable and extremely traumatizing incident causing so much anguish to the medical students community nationwide was as a result of negligence, incompetence and the lackadaisical attitude of the crew members and the management of Marina Resort.”
Out of the 13 students from NIMSA who went on a boat cruise at Marina Resort in Calabar, Cross River State 3 are still missing.
The boat capsized at about 3pm on Saturday when some of the medical students who came from Universities across the country to attend the NIMSA annual Health Week in Calabar as part of social activities went to the Marina Resort to have a boat cruise.
Three medical students with two from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and one from the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, are feared dead after the boat capsized.
