The Lagos
State Waterways Authority (LASWA) said the bodies of the remaining two victims
of Tuesday’s boat mishap had been recovered.
A total of
13 out of the 18 persengers involved in the accident were rescued alive while
three were confirmed dead and two declared missing.
The General
Manager of LASWA, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel told newsmen in Lagos, that the bodies
of the last two victims, a young adult and a youth were recovered at 8:30
am on Thursday.
Emmanuel
condemned the reckless disregard to safety regulations by some boat operators.
He said the
authority would not relent on its efforts to ensure full compliance with safety
regulations by boat operators to make the waterways safe.
The LASWA
boss said that the head-on collision which occurred at about 6:10pm, involved
two passenger speed-boats along the creek in Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos
State.
Emmanuel
said that there were 10 passengers in the boat from Ojo Jetty and eight passengers
in the other from Irewe community when the incident occurred.
He said that
the search and rescue operation was by relevant state agencies and the local
community who were the first responders.
The general
manager said that preliminary investigations by LASWA and LASEMA revealed that
the incident was caused by reckless driving and over-speeding on the part of
the boat captains.
He said that
further investigations would be carried out by the authority and those found
wanting would be sanctioned accordingly.
