26 Persons Escape Death Near West point

At least twenty-six persons including a pregnant woman and children narrowly escaped death yesterday near the township of West Point while three persons failed to make the survivors’ list. An eyewitness told the NEW VISION that three persons got drowned in Montserrado River while 26 others through the grace of God survived when a Kru fishing canoe collided with a mini boat (water bus) on the river.

The unfortunate incident occurred about 10:00am Monday’s morning while enrout to West Point from behind the Sathi Brother Store in Vai Town. The boat has been described as a death trap. The ‘death trap’ boat was overloaded with goods and passengers.

The boat which is owed by a Ghanaian fisherman only identified as Kwisi, also had about 12 bags of cement, few bundles of zinc, 12 cartoons of milk, several bags of rice and over 29 persons. According to an eyewitness, Mr. William Dewh, the canoe capsized a immediately upon taking off when an unidentified passage forced his way in the canoe.

The mini boat usually commutes people from West Point and Bushrod Island areas to reach their respective destinations on daily basis. Due to the failures of commercial drivers especially taxi cab and bus drivers to commute people directly inside the Township of West Point, marketers and students usually used the death trap boat to reach their destinations. Some of the survivors were taken to Mawah Clinic in Vai Town for medical treatment where three were pronounced dead by medical doctors.

Two others including a seven-month pregnant lady on critical list were later transferred to JFK Medical Center in Sinkor for further. Following the incident, the police arrested and subsequently detained on Mr. Toe who claimed to be a shareholder of the death trap canoe has reported himself at the West Point police deport where he is being interrogated arrested on the scene of the incident have been transferred to the national police headquarters on Capitol hills for further investigation.