With a heavy hearts, the Liberia Maritime Authority on Wednesday announced that the lifeless bodies of 3 persons believed to be some of the missing persons from the NIKO IVANKA vessel were found on the shores of Grand Cape Mount County (2 persons) and Marshall in Margibi County (1 person).
The relevant Government authorities have moved in to recover the bodies.
For the respect of the deceased and privacy for the affected families the names of the deceased are being withheld until the relevant government agencies contact them shortly.
In addition, divers are being dispatched to the location where the vessel sunk to assess its hull and further search for any and all missing persons whilst modalities are being worked out to salvage any materials from the vessel.
Furthermore, we hereby announce that an Incident Management Center (IMC) has been setup at the Monrovia Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination located on the Coast Guard Base.
The IMC consists of the members of the National Maritime SAR/Disaster Committee, which was activated, by Commissioner Nagbe, the National Search and Rescue Coordinator on July 20, 2021.
Meanwhile, we wish to inform the press and the public that two numbers have been activated at the IMC for reporting purposes. The two numbers are: 0777290158 and 0880753581.
The public is strongly encouraged to call these numbers to report any sightings of debris from the vessel, appearance of bodies washed ashore or any relevant information that may assist in the recovery phase.
Nine of them including seven crewmen on the NIKO IVANKA were Liberians, one Chinese, and one Syrian. Six were rescued on Saturday, July 17, while the remaining was rescued on Sunday, July 18.
The vessel, which, belongs to HYLALEA INC., was constructed in Marshall, Margibi County in the period of four months and commissioned by Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor in 2018.
It was carrying about 21 passengers, including nine workers of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) when it was reported distressed.
Though it remains unclear who order the sailing of the vessel which was previously barred by government from sailing, a probe has been launched into the matter by the government, through the Liberia National Police (LNP).
