One Dead As Boat Capsizes In Lagos

The Lagos State government yesterday confirmed the death of one person in a boat accident which occurred at the Oworonshoki end of Third Mainland Bridge area of the state.
The tragedy struck when a passenger boat with about 20 passengers capsized. The passenger boat was said to have capsized at about 9:30am.
In a statement signed by the Managing Director, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel in Lagos, he said that 19 passengers were rescued alive while 1 passenger, who was a lady, after a long search, was found dead in the sunk boat.
He disclosed that the incident occurred when the boat ran into a submerged object.
He also added that all the passengers were wearing life jackets as at the time of the incident even as he noted that the deceased was trapped in the boat.
Emmanuel further said that the 19 passengers were later taken to Ebute-Ero jetty from where they were taken to an undisclosed hospital.
“A boat mishap occurred at about 9:30 to 10 am this morning (yesterday). 20 people were on board, 19 were rescued alive while search is still going on for the last person. The 19 were taken to Ebute Ero jetty where they were being taken to the hospital. Investigation is still going on to confirm the cause of the accident. The last passenger has been found in the sank boat and dead. The incident occurred as a result of the ferry boat hitting a submerged object. Further information is still being carried out. They were all wearing life jackets but the lady was trapped in the boat”, the statement reads.
The boat left Ikorodu this morning and was headed for CMS.
“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,” he said.
“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 are also taking place to get the submerged wooden boat off the navigable channel,” the LASWA boss added.
He informed that the crew members of the said boat have been taken to police custody for further investigation while commiserating with the family of the deceased.
Yesterday’s accident happened about one month after a similar one took  when a  privately owned-passenger boat used to ferry members of a yet-to-be identified church across the Ilashe lagoon in Lagos, capsized, leaving nine dead and scores missing.