The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), says but for the quick intervention of the Nigerian Navy during the rescue operations of the seventeen Medical students affected at the Marina Resort Boat Mishap, the casualty may have increased.
The Director General of NEMA, represented by Fortunatus Anyanwu stated this when he led the National Emergency Team to visit the Commander of the Nigerian Navy Ship, Victory Base, Calabar.
The DG expressed the Agency’s gratitude for the swift response by the Nigerian Navy, saying the capacity of the Nigerian Navy as a critical stakeholder in search and rescue operations helped the situation.
He said the effectiveness of the Navy Units as part of the architecture for Disaster Response Management in the country cannot be over-emphasized.
Responding, the Commander NNS VICTORY, Commodore Vincent Gbaranwi thanked the NEMA Team for the visit, with assurances that the Navy will continue to provide safety and security to lives and property in the nation’s maritime sector.
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Gbaranwi said, search and rescue” is one of the statutory mandates of the Navy and a major component of the Chief of the Naval Staff Strategic Directives on Emergency situations.
Recall that a gunboat belonging to NNS VICTORY base Calabar recently responded swiftly to a distress call and rescued 14, students of the Nigerian Medical Students Association in collaboration with Marine Police.
(Editor: Ena Agbanoma)
