Boat Mishap: Illegal Operators Cause Rising Death Toll

Osaretin Balogban

Over 17 persons have been confirmed dead in the boat mishap that took place at Mile Two in Lagos on Friday night.

Around 17 persons were missing when a commercial boat capsized in the Mile Two water canal at 7:45 pm.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) confirmed this as of yesterday.

NEMA’s coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye said two bodies were recovered on Saturday night. One was a 52-year-old man and the other a 20-year-old lady.

Ibrahim further stated that 17 bodies have been retrieved from the Lagos lagoon so far since the boat accident occurred on Friday.

Farinloye said: “17 bodies have been recovered so far from the Lagos Lagoon after the boat accident. Recovery search continues.”

He also mentioned that the cause of the accident was due to illegal boat operator conveying passengers after the 7 pm deadline.

Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye also added that these operators do not protect their passengers with safety equipment such as life jackets, which leads to the death of passengers boarding such boats.

He noted that regulatory bodies had tried their best to stop these illegal boat operators.

“It was revealed that the regulatory bodies have tried to stamp out illegal operation of small boats which hardly use life jackets after official hours,” he said

Source: The Nation

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