At least two bodies have been recovered after a W-19 passenger fibre boat carrying 16 people capsized in the Ojo area of Lagos state, the National Emergency Management Agency.
NEMA spokesperson, Ibrahim Farinloye, in a statement said the two bodies recovered were that of a 52-year-old male and a 20-year-old female.
Recovery operations are still ongoing.
According to the statement, the boat took off from Mile 2 to Ibeshe in Ojo axis and capsized “due to operation at night against the inland waterways’ rules.”
“The incident happened at about 7.45pm (Friday), it was found out that the the tide of the water drifted the boat to a stationary barge which caused the boat to overturn,” the statement added.
“Marine Police, NIWA, LASWA and volunteers swung into action in trying to rescue some of the victims to no avail.
“It can not be confirmed if all the passengers including the Captain were wearing the life but some people claimed some of them were wearing their life jackets which may not be effective.”