ONE DEAD, 19 RESCUED AS BOAT CAPSIZES IN LAGOS

OWORONSHOKI, Lagos, Nigeria – The Lagos State Government has confirmed the rescue of 19 persons in the boat mishap which occurred in Oworonshoki end of Third Mainland Bridge area of the State on Tuesday.

Managing Director of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, who confirmed the mishap in a statement, said the 19 persons were rescued alive by the agency, while one of the passengers on board the boat was unfortunately lost.

The passenger boat identified as SEALINK was said to be travelling from Ikorodu to CMS when the incident occurred at about 9:30am in Oworonshoki after hitting a submerged object.

While confirming the incident, Emmanuel said the 19 persons rescued have already been taken to Ebute Ero Jetty from where they were transferred to the hospital, while further investigations on the cause of the accident were still ongoing.

He said: “A passenger boat named SEALINK with 20 passengers and two crew onboard coming from Ikorodu to CMS ran over a submerged wooden boat close to Third Mainland Bridge. 19 passengers were carried to safety to Ebute Ero Jetty.

“The LASWA emergency response team recovered a female body (identified as a police officer attached to Zone Two police station) and handed over the corpse to the Marine Police. Her husband is an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

“The submerged SEALINK Boat has been salvaged and towed to a secure location off the waterways. Salvaging Operations is also taking place to get the submerged wooden boat off the navigable channel,” the LASWA boss said.

Emmanuel added that the crew members of the said SEALINK Boat have already been taken to police custody as investigation is still ongoing.

While commiserating with the family of the deceased, Emmanuel assured that the State Government would not relent in coming up with policies and programmes aimed at ensuring safety on the waterways.