At least four people have been reported dead and over hundred tons of food lost in three different scenarios of boat fires in Jonglei within the first 10 days of July.
After the boat that got burned on Saturday, another boat caught fire at a dock in Leudiet on Tuesday.
According to the Jonglei state authority, the sailors of the three boats are being detained in the police custody as they undergo investigation.
State information minister, Elizabeth Nyadak said apart from the boat that got burnt with WFP’s food items in Bor Port over the weeknd, there are other two more boat that caught fire within the week where 4 people lost their lives.
The official said the ferryboat that burnt over the weekend caught fire when the sailors were trying to cook within the boat premise and the engine caught fire and burnt everything including more than hundred matrix tons of sorghum, Lentils and cooking oil that they were taking to internally Displaced Persons in Malakal but said all the people on boat escaped the fire safely.
However, the earlier media reports indicates that four people were injured and rushed to Bor hospital for medical attention.
“We have not even finished a week, there was a boat that got burnt from Malual-Agorbar plus this one and another at Hai Panjak and we lost four people,” She said.
The minister cautioned the sailors against tempering with fire within the boat as it endangers the lives of the passengers and the humanitarians assistance.
“The boat sailors should be careful with the lives of people so they should check the boat well before loading and if they want to cook or smoke cigarettes, they should do it far away from the engine, it’s better for this food to be given to the needy instead to get burnt” She added.
Elizabeth urges the Boat Union to set the safety guidelines that the sailors will follow strictly to avoid similar occurrences in the near future. The minister claimed the boat that burned with over hundred tons of WFP food items was hired from ‘John Trade and Investment Company’.
Mingkaman could succeed in all efforts to reach the company, WFP and boat union for commends.