[News] Two foreign fishermen lost in Atlantic Ocean for 5 days rescued in Bayelsa coastal community

Two fishermen from Neves in SaôTomē and Principe, who were lost in the Atlantic Ocean for five days, have been rescued in Brass Council Area of Bayelsa State.

The fishermen, Antonio Sabino, 51, and Osorio Pires, 41, were said to have been rescued by a trawler fishing in the Gulf of Guinea on Sunday, July 2, 2023, and handed over to fishermen from Okpoama-Brass who took them ashore.

The two fishermen have been handed over to the Divisional Police Officer, Okpoama Division of the Nigeria Police Force, Ebimiesigha Bebetu.

According to the Chairman of the Okpoama Kingdom Security Committee, Chief Munalayefa William-Sinte, the men who look malnourished were clothed and fed before they were handed over to the police for necessary action.

He said the fishermen who were visibly worried were calmed with sign language before they were handed over to the police as it was impossible to communicate with them because of the language barrier.

Chief Sinte also told journalists that a fisherman from Ilaje in Ondo State but resident in Okpoama has been missing for over a week, adding that his colleagues have been searching the ocean for days.

In 2019, bodies of two male fishermen at an advanced stage decomposition were found in a fishing boat that drifted ashore in Okpoama from Saọ̄ Tomē and Principe.

Spokesman for the Bayelsa Police Command, Asinim Butswat, who confirmed the development in a statement on Monday, July 3, said the Divisional Police Officer of Okpoama Division, Brass Local Government Area, Bayelsa State has taken custody of two fishermen who were rescued by a captain of a fishing trawler at 50 nautical miles off the Atlantic ocean.

He said the Police authorities have established contact with a coast guard officer from Saô Tomē and Principe and are making concerted effort to reunite them with their families.