TIMBO KRU TOWN, River Cess – An artisanal fisherman has drowned near the coast of Timbo Beach in River Cess after the canoe he and a colleague were paddling capsized during a heavy storm.

Christian Koffa, age 22, and Mark Nagbe, 17, were returning from fishing on July 25 when they were forced to jump out from the canoe, Nagbe recounted. Koffa would later drown.

In his explanation, the survivor said he and his colleague had attempted to swim behind the canoe while calling for help. However, this attempt failed, and Koffa could not be seen anymore.

“We jumped in the water, but the breeze was heavy, so it started carrying the canoe and we were swimming towards the canoe,” Nagbe said. “My jacket got heavy on me, and it was carrying me under the water. So, I fought hard to take it off, but I did not see Christian again when I came from under the water.”

17-year-old survivor Mark Nagbe. Photo: Eric Opa Doue.

Nagbe was rescued by a group of fishermen headed by Peter Barchue. Barchue said they had seen Nagbe and the capsized canoe from a distance and rushed to save him.

He recounted the rescue: “We were coming, and we saw the canoe going towards Grand Bassa. So, we knew that there was trouble, and that is how we started coming to them. When we reached the canoe, no one was inside, but it did not capsize.”

While he rescued the canoe, he said the other fishermen helped Nagbe, who was already helpless.

“My friends put him in our own canoe,” Barchue said. “We looked for his friend, and we couldn’t find him and so we came down.”

Peter George, known as the Sea Chief, is responsible for monitoring and regulating the activities of the local fishermen and recommending safety measures. George said men were immediately dispatched at sea for a thorough search of Koffa, but he was not found.

“It was the noise from the beach that I heard, and I went on the beach,” he said. “When I got there, I saw people crying. They say someone leaves in the water. I organized manpower to go and search for him.”

He said that while the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority issued over 100 life jackets for the safety of fishermen at sea, most refused to wear them.

In the case involving Koffa and Nagbe, he said both men had a single life jacket, but none wore it.

Meanwhile, Koffa’s corpse was discovered on July 28 in Zammie Town, Grand Bassa’s Grand Kolor District.

Before the discovery of the body, young men who were friends of the deceased protested to see their friend’s body. Their action led to the destruction of properties. Several of them were arrested and forwarded for investigation in Cestos, according to the chief investigator of the Liberia National Police in River Cess, Thomas Akoi.

River Cess’ Fen River District Commissioner Robert Morris vowed not to release the survivor to his family until they paid a fine of L$20,000 (US$102.75) for venturing out to sea when he was not a fisherman.

Morris also fined the Sea Chief L$2,500 (US$12.8) for not reporting that fishermen refused to wear their lifejackets at sea.

Featured photo by Eric Opa Doue