No fewer than four bodies have been recovered after a boat they boarded from Mile 2 en route Ibeshe in Ojo area of Lagos State capsized.
The boat mishap, THE WITNESS gathered, occurred when the passenger fibre boat en route Ibeshe axis of Ojo with 16 persons on board, hit a stationary barge along the Mile 2 waterways which caused the boat to overturn.
A joint search and rescue team from Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), National Inland Waterways (NIWA) Nigerian Marine Police and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were currently combing the waters to check for survivors and recover more bodies.
The accident came barely three days after the unfortunate boat accident around Ikorodu area of Lagos State which led to the death of two passengers in the state.
Confirming the accident, both NIWA and LASWA through statements released and made available to newsmen, said: “At about 7.45 today the 8th of July 2022, The National Inland Waterways Authority and Lagos State waterways authority received a distress call of an incident on the waterways.
“The Boat going from Mile 2 to Ibeshe in Ojo axis broke the waterways rules of late travelling by setting sail at 7.45pm. As he set out, the tide of the water drifted the boat to a stationary barge which caused the boat to overturn. It is said that all passengers on board including children were not all putting on their life jackets”.
“The Search and Rescue team of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), National Inland Waterways (NIWA) Nigerian Marine Police and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were immediately mobilized to the scene of the incident but unfortunately could only find the boat after several hours while efforts are still ongoing to locate the victims.
“The Boat is currently in the custody of Marine Police. The Boat Captain is also unaccounted for as at the time of this press release”, they added.