South African authorities have rescued 12 crew members from a Nigerian tugboat that sank off the country’s coast late Saturday night. One person has been confirmed dead, while five others remain missing.
The tugboat, LEO, was carrying 18 people. 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 while returning to Lagos.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, disclosed that the South African Ministry of Transportation notified Nigerian authorities about the incident.
According to a statement issued by her aide, Dr. Magnus Eze, the South African Maritime Safety Authority confirmed that the rescued crew members are being transported to Port Elizabeth, where officials of the Nigerian High Commission are set to receive them.
Search and recovery operations are ongoing as efforts continue to locate the missing crew members.
