The Nigerian Army has confirmed the death of four soldiers in a boat mishap within Bayelsa waterways saying that the remains of the soldiers were yet to be found, but residents say two bodies have so far been salvaged.

The soldiers drowned during the ongoing military training exercise codenamed “Operation Crocodile Smile” after their boat capsized along Brass Water Front, Brass Local Government Area of the state.

Spokesman of the Nigerian Army,  Sani Usman,  a colonel, confirmed on Tuesday in Yenagoa that four Soldiers died in the incident, but added their remains were yet to be seen.

Usman said that search is underway.

“I can confirm to you that there was a mishap yesterday involving death of four soldiers; on whether their bodies have been recovered, search is underway and we are yet to get detail on that,” he said on phone.

A resident in the area, Jonah Kennedy however said that two out of the four bodies have been recovered as at Tuesday evening by local divers.

“I learnt that the community youths, soldiers and other local divers are on search to see that those bodies are recovered; this evening, we heard that two of them have been found,” Kennedy said

Lloyd Sese, Chairman of the Maritime Workers Union in Bayelsa, described the incident as unfortunate, urging the federal and state governments to improve emergency response along waterways in the state.