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Sunday 25 September 2016

Hausa Man, Three Other Women Die In A Boat Mishap On Their Way To Tompolo Father's Burial

Hausa man, three other women die in a boat mishap on their way to Tompolo father's burial
No fewer than four persons going for the burial of Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo, the late father of fugitive former militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, died in a boat mishap at the weekend.
It was gathered that the victims included three women and a man believed to be a northerner.
They were said to have met their end when the boat they boarded from Miller Waterside headed for Kurutie in Warri South-West council area capsized at a distance not far from its take off point in Warri.
The burial ceremony of Chief Ekpemupolo, a Gbaramatu Ijaw chief, kicked-off from Warri town where his remains were ferried from.

Other activities, including the lying-in-state and the final interment, are billed for his Kurutie home and Okerenkoko in Gbaramatu Kingdom, today. 
A reliable source from the area, who spoke under anonymity, told our correspondent that the sad new reached those already at the ceremony much later, causing moods of the event to be tempered.
“We were already at the funeral celebrating Chief Thomas Ekpemupolo when we got news of the accident.
“Initially, we were told only two persons had died. Further details later revealed that about four persons, three females including one Faith from Ogulagha, another female from Kurutie and a man apparently from the northern part of the country, lost their lives in the mishap.
“The Hausa man I gathered was actually not an invited dignitary, but someone who was conveying some wares to trade at the funeral ground,” the source said.
Spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, Celestina Kalu (SP), said persons were rescued from the boat mishap.
Though she could not confirm if anyone died in the mishap, she said search was still on for more people.
Kalu noted that accounting for the number of persons involved in the accident was difficult because there was no manifest before the accident.
”Regretfully be informed that a W-19 boat, mounted with 115HP Yamaha engine, capsized at Wari River.
“Patrol team rescued 11 people, while searching and investigation are ongoing. There was no manifest to know the number of passengers in the boat, number of death not certain yet,” she said in a terse message.

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