TWO persons have died  following a collision between two boats travelling along the Port Kaituma black water channel, North West Region around 08:00 hrs on Saturday night.

Dead are Philip Adams, 50, the captain of one of the boats involved in the accident and Nekisha James, 9, a passenger on board. Adams was at the time transporting a ‘Church sister’ and her family home, following her son’s wedding reception at Port Kaituma.
The captain’s grieving wife, Evelyn Benn, who spoke with this newspaper, yesterday recalled that it was around 19:00 hrs, and her husband Phillip, had closed off working for the day. He was at home in his hammock, watching television, when a neighbour known as ‘Sister Joyce James’ called out to them. The woman who had about five children with her, including her nine-year old daughter Nekeisha, asked Evelyn if she could beg her husband to take them home, since it was already late, the place was dark and they were not likely to get any transportation at that hour.
Evelyn approached her husband (a father of five) and he agreed to help the stranded family. She said that she joined the boat with him and took along their two youngest children – a four-year-old and a nine-month old – both boys.
She recalled that shortly after taking off they heard the sound of boat engines way ahead of them, but what was strange, was that it sounded at times, as though the boat was spinning around. She said as they approached the oncoming boat, her husband flashed his light towards the vessel which they observed had no light.
In an instant she said: “This big boat came upon us with one speed.  My husband tried to avoid it, but it hit us, towards the side because it was all over the river.” She said on impact, Joyce’s daughter was hit and was flung face down, onto the floor of their boat. It was really a hard blow the child suffered, Evelyn said.
The bereaved woman said that everything happened with lightening speed. Simultaneously, her four- year old, was thrust forward and landed on the floor, next to Neikesha. Still holding her nine-month old, Evelyn said, she jumped forward and grabbed her other son’s hand and the baby fell from her hands. Joyce too, jumped towards her daughter who was knocked out, and immediately shouted, “Meh daughter dead, meh daughter dead!”
“My four-year old son was crying and I told him to ‘stop crying’ but then I looked around towards my husband, but did not see him. He was not there, neither was the engine.”  They had both been knocked into the water, Evelyn cried, as she spoke.  But with all this happening, she recalled, the driver of the other boat, failed to render any assistance to them, but sped away. It was claimed the man had two women in the boat with him at the time of the tragedy.
Evelyn said her husband’s boat did not go down, so she and Joyce pulled over to the river bank and Joyce, quickly huddled her children together and caught a minibus which took them to the Port Kaituma Hospital. However, Nekisha was pronounced dead on arrival.
Evelyn did not accompany Joyce to the hospital, but walked back home with her two sons and broke the tragic news to their three daughters. She said her son suffered a blow to his head, but she did not immediately realise the gravity of his injury.  She was yesterday preparing to take him to hospital.
Meanwhile, as word went around, neighbours and other friends at Port Kaituma mounted a search of the pitch black waterways on the darkened night, for the missing man, Philip Adams. They searched throughout the night, and found him around 03:30 hrs Sunday.
When found, Philip’s body bore bruises and his forehead was badly bashed in, Evelyn said. She added that the boat her husband drove, was a big ballahoo, not a speed boat, and even though he was an experienced boat captain, he had had been operating that boat for just about two months.