Agencies recover 13 bodies from Lagos boat accident

What was supposed to be a less than two minutes’ boat trip turned to be a quest of no return for no fewer than 13 people on Tuesday at the 4th Avenue, 42 Road, Festac Town, Festac, Lagos State.

The wooden canoe that was conveying them and other eight passengers capsized midway into the journey.

Among the 21 passengers were children returning from school and men and women coming back from their places of work.

The children, women and few of the men perished in the 15-meter-distance journey.

The man who paddled the canoe was also said to be among the casualties. It was learnt that some passengers held on to him in a last-ditch effort to cling to life.

Rescue agencies said 13 dead bodies were recovered; five people were rescued alive, while three others were still missing.

Our correspondent learnt that the incident, which happened around 7.30pm, was caused by overloading.

It was learnt that the canoe usually carried a maximum of eight passengers, but was forced to take 21, as some of the passengers sat on each other’s laps.

An eyewitness, David Mark, who was part of the local rescue efforts, said, “The incident happened around 7.30pm. The people wanted to cross over to the other side and enter FESTAC Town, but the boat overturned in the middle of the water.”

A resident of the area, Sikiru Balogun, said 12 corpses were recovered on the first day, while one was taken out on Wednesday morning.

“Thirteen people died in all, but we brought out five people alive. The man who paddled it could have escaped too because he knew how to swim if not that those people  held on to him. This would not have happened if the canoe carried only eight or nine people that it could take. Instead, it carried 21 people,” he said.

Another resident, Akeem Idris, said, “We first brought out a lady, whom I knew because she used to sell recharge cards on my street. Then we brought out two people- a boy and a man. A woman who had four children was also brought out dead with her children.”

It was learnt that N10 was usually paid as fare for a trip through a canoe, while a longer route, usually by motorcycle, could cost N100.

PUNCH Metro observed that the water was murky and dirty. There also appeared to be a swamp around the area which residents said made escape from the water difficult.

Our correspondent also saw a broken down bridge by a side of the murky water.

A resident said there used to be a link bridge, which was demolished by the local government authorities.

The source said, “There was a bridge there, but the council came and removed it. Somebody wanted to construct a new one, but they came again, packed all the materials he was using and stopped the work.”

The Amuwo Odofin Local Government Chairman, Ayodele Adewale, while condoling with the families of the victims, ruled out the construction of a link bridge on the water.

“We do not have plans to construct any link bridge. There is one about 2,000 metres away and that should be enough. We have told the residents that there was no way we could construct a bridge there. For over two years we have mobilised against a tragedy like this  through the residents’ association. We created a tricycle park to ease the movement of people. But we are taking measures to ensure this does not happen again,” Adewale said.

The Managing Director, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Mr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said people must be careful when using the waterways.

He said, “The Lagos State Government is advocating the use of life jackets. We have put a lot in place to forestall this.”

The Spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, South-West, Ibrahim Farinloye, told our correspondent that the federal agency had started training water craft operators from Niger State to help forestall such occurrence in the future.

It was gathered that the 13 corpses were taken to the mortuary, while the five survivors had been taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital.

When our correspondent visited the LASUTH, the Chief Matron, Medical and Emergency Ward, Mrs. Lawal Yusuf, said they had been discharged.

“The five boys brought here from FESTAC Town had been discharged. We were able to give them some drugs before releasing them this afternoon,” she said.