Six people have died following a boat accident in Lagos on Saturday morning.
The incident occurred after the boat which was conveying 17 people from Badore in the Ajah area of Lagos to Ijedeh in Ikorodu, Lagos State capsized, sources said.
The spokesman of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), in the Southwest region, Ibrahim Farinloye, however said that 13 of the occupants of the boat were rescued while one reportedly died in a hospital in Ajah.
The remaining 12 are said to be receiving treatment in the hospital.
“We received a distress call at about 10:25am about a boat mishap with 17 passengers on board, immediately we mobilized the Marine Police, National Island Waterways and Lagos State Waterways Agency to search and rescue the victims.”
He explained that the cause of the accident was a pile up of sand along their route which the boat did not see and ran into it.
He added that two more people are yet to be found although there are conflicting reports from the different rescue agencies but he added that “some people are dead while 11 people have been rescued”.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) has summoned an emergency meeting with all commercial boat operators in the state on Tuesday, just as it vowed to clamp down on boat operators who continue to contravene the rules and regulations guiding their operations.
In a statement signed by the Managing Director of LASWA, Abisola Kamson, the meeting which will focus on the compliance of safety standards of vessels operating on the state waterways will hold at the LASWA office in Falomo Ikoyi by 9:30am.
“Despite efforts by the State Government to enforce the safety standards on the waterways, some boat operators still flout the rules and regulations thereby putting the lives of innocent citizens at risk”.
“The Lagos State Government will not tolerate the operation of substandard vessels on the waterways. Any individual or corporate entity found to be operating vessels not deemed water worthy will be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the law,” she said.
Kamson who confirmed the boat mishap at Ibeshe, Ikorodu said the incident occurred at approximately 10:20am on a boat, Amen Limited, of Aki Marine Company belonging to one Akeem Balogun, which was travelling from Ijede to Badore East.
She said although all passengers on the boat were wearing their life jackets, the covered design of the boat made rescue efforts challenging.
Kamson said that survivors rescued were immediately taken to the Ijede General Hospital for treatment, while investigations are ongoing in collaboration with the Marine Police.
The LASWA boss who was at the scene of the incident reaffirmed the State Government’s commitment to ensuring all operators plying the Lagos waterways comply with safety standards to prevent future loss of life and property.
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