4 dead, 11 rescued as boat capsizes in Lagos

The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) has recovered an additional corpse from the scene of the boat mishap at Ikorodu.

Mrs Wuraola Alake, Head, Public Affairs Unit, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) in an update on the accident on Tuesday in Lagos, said the submerged boat had also been recovered.

She also shed more light on the accident in the statement containing the update.

“In continuation of the search and rescue operations on the current mishap involving Oluwaseyifunmi boat, one additional corpse has been recovered along with the submerged boat from the scene of the incident.

“The exact cause of this incident is still being investigated, as some of the rescued passengers denied the claim that the affected boats were engaged in boat racing.

“The passenger at the Addax Jetty filled out no manifest before passengers boarded the boat, but 9 out of the 11 rescued passengers later filled out the manifest at the Ibeshe ferry terminal after LASAWA and other first responders had rescued them.

“At the same time, the other 2 passengers refused to put down their details.

“Eleven passengers were confirmed to be alive, while the recovered casualties have been handed over to the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority LASEMA and the State Environmental Health Management Unit SEHMU,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the boat, at about 7.17 p.m. on Feb. 26, had an accident along the Ibeshe/Ikorodu channel en route Ebute ipakodo ikorodu.

It had taken off from Addax jetty, Lagos.

In an earlier statement, Alake had announced the recovery of three casualties alongside the rescue of 11 passengers, while search and rescue operations continued.