Sixteen passengers missing as boat capsizes in Lagos

At least sixteen passengers went missing in another boat accident on Friday night around the Mile 2 area of Lagos.

The incident occurred barely three days after the boat accident around the Ikorodu area of the state, leading to the death of two passengers.

Sarat Braimah, Lagos area manager, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday.

“At about 7:45 p.m., on July 8, the National Inland Waterways Authority and Lagos State 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.

“The boat going from Mile 2 to Ibeshe in Ojo axis broke the waterways rules of late travelling by setting sail at 7:45 p.m.,” she said.

Ms Braimah said that the tide of the water drifted the boat to a stationary barge, which caused it 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 Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), National Inland Waterways (NIWA) were immediately mobilised to the scene of the incident but unfortunately could only find the boat after several hours,” she stated.

According to her, the boat captain was also unaccounted for, as efforts were ongoing to locate victims.

(NAN)