By Eric Elezuo
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) in conjunction with the Lagos State Waterways Authority, has announced that a W19 passenger Fibre boat carrying 16 passengers has capsized along the Ojo area of the state.
A statement signed by the Area Manager, NIWA, Engr Sarat Braimah, revealed that the boat set sail at about 7:45pm, thereby going against the rules of late travelling, before it was buffeted by the tide, and crashing against a stationary barge and overturned.
Braimah noted that on responding to the distress call, only the boat, which was heading to Ibeshe from Mile Two, and carrying both adults and children, could be rescued. He said that rescued mission is ongoing as all the passengers are still uncounted for.
The statement further revealed that none of the passengers was wearing a life jacket as at the time of the accident.
The statement in details:
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.
A W19 passenger Fibre boat carrying 16 people 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 7.45pm.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 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) and 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.
