There is anxiety over the 16 passengers carried by a Mile 2-Ojo Lagos boat as it capsized on Sallah day, Saturday.
The state government said the 16 were still missing.
This happened a day before the State experienced heavy rains that also caused destruction in some parts.
The Lagos State Waterways Authority, in a statement, gives detail of the accident:
“At about 7.45pm on the 8th of July 2022, The Lagos State Waterways Authority and National Inland Waterways Authority received a distress call of an incident on the waterways.
“A W19 passenger Fibre boat carrying 16 people capsized along the Ojo area of the state”
According to the statement, the captain broke the waterway rules as he sailed late in the evening with no life jackets for passengers.
“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 which includes children were not all putting on their life jackets”
“The Search and Rescue team of the LASWA, National Inland Waterways, Nigerian Marine Police and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency were immediately mobilised 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.”
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