By Kelvin Ololo
At Simon Beach in Ikang, Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria, the aftermath of a waterway tragedy has turned into a painful wait for families searching for certainty about their loved ones.
Eight passengers were drowned following the collision of two speed boats along the Ikang-Cameroon waterway, while five others were rescued alive, according to the Cross River State Police Command.
The incident occurred on September 6, 2026, at about 12:14 p.m., when a W23 speed boat carrying 13 Nigerian passengers was travelling from Ikang towards the Republic of Cameroon through Cameroonian territorial waters around the Tikoro area.
The Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Eitokpah Sunday Akata, confirmed the incident in a statement made available on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
According to the police, the boat collided with another W23 speed boat fitted with a double Yamaha engine. The collision reportedly left eight passengers feared drowned, while five others were rescued alive with the assistance of local fishermen in Cameroon.
For the families involved, the incident has moved beyond the ordinary account of a boat collision. It is now a painful search for answers, whether a relative, parent, child, sibling or friend who left on the journey will return alive, or whether the recovered bodies at Simon Beach contain the final answer they fear.
The police said the bodies of those drowned were subsequently brought to Simon Beach, Ikang.
The Marine Police in Ikang have been directed to ensure that the recovered bodies are properly identified by their respective families before they are deposited at a morgue.
The Command said it is liaising with relevant authorities and affected families to establish the full circumstances surrounding the collision, stressing that the information available remained preliminary, suggesting that details could change and inquiries and verification continue.
The Command also said additional information would be provided when the details are verified.
The collision has brought renewed attention to the risks faced by passengers who depend on waterways linking communities around Nigeria’s Bakassi Peninsula and neighboring Cameroon.
The waterway remains an important route for movement, but for those caught in Sunday’s tragedy, the journey ended in uncertainty, rescue and loss.
At Simon Beach, the story is therefore not simply about two boats colliding. It is about families waiting to identify their loved ones, survivors trying to come to terms with what happened, and a community confronting the human cost of a journey that began as an ordinary trip across the water.
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