Two Dead, One Missing In Lagos Boat Accident

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Benue boat mishap
Two persons
have lost their lives and one other declared missing after a boat conveying seven passengers to the Offin area of Ikorodu capsized into the Lagos lagoon.

Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) said four people were rescued after the accident which occurred around 7 pm.

The General Manager of the Lagos State Waterways Authority, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, noted that all the occupants were relatives and they had two toddlers on board.

He said;

According to the report given, a fishing boat from Makoko with seven passengers onboard, five adults including the boat captain and two toddlers, capsized into the lagoon while heading for the Offin area in Ikorodu.

Further inquires revealed that the cause of the incident was the rough water current usually recorded around the area. The first responders to the incident were passengers of a ferry that witnessed the incident before the arrival of the LASWA rescue team.

Emmanuel explained;

Inquiries revealed that the fishing boat, which was clearly operating outside its fishing capability and therefore not equipped with necessary safety gadgets for passenger ferry operation, carried the occupants, who were all related and were heading for the Offin area for a relative’s funeral.

It was revealed that all seven passengers on board were not wearing life jackets. Four passengers were rescued alive, two fatalities were recorded, and one passenger is still missing.

Read Also: Boat Mishap: Lagos Arraigns Boat Captain Over Death Of 12 Passengers

This comes a week after a boat captain, Happiness Elebiju, was charged with 11 counts of involuntary manslaughter for his role in a July 29 boat accident that claimed 12 lives.

Elebiju allegedly switched off the engine of the boat while it was already on the water due to a fare dispute with the passengers.

Many of them were also not wearing life jackets when the boat drifted towards a stationary barge and capsized.

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