Three passengers drowned while 11 were rescued as a 14-passenger boat sank carrying 14 passengers at Ibeshe-Ikorodu waters in Lagos State.
The accident is coming barely five days after one died passenger dead while another was declared missing after the boat named T-BEN departed from Addax Jetty on February 21, 2024 at about 1825 hours for Ibeshe and ran over a submerged shoreline concrete in the middle of the channel around the Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge.
The Ibeshe-Ikorodu accident occurred at about 7:30 pm on yesterday, February 26, 2024, when the boat suddenly developed a mechanical fault.
The Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Damilola Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the incident in a statement today, Tuesday.
According to him, “The Agency responded to distress calls concerning a Passenger Boat which took off from Addax Jetty around 7 pm.”
“On arrival, it was discovered that a passenger ferry boat named Oluwaseyifunmi carrying 14 people had capsized due to a suspected mechanical fault and was rapidly submerged following its departure from the aforementioned terminal.
“A combined team of Water guards, the search and rescue team of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), and Agency responders were mobilized to the scene of the incident, leading to the rescue of 11 persons alive who have been taken to Ibeshe Ferry Terminal.
“Three passengers were retrieved dead and SEHMU has been tasked with transferring their bodies,” he said.
Ontimenewsng.com learnt LASWA and other relevant authorities have commenced investigation to unravel the cause of the accident.
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