Thirteen more bodies have been recovered from the ill-fated boat sailing from Mile 2 to Ibeshe, a suburb of Lagos, on Saturday, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Confirming this casualty figure in a statement on Sunday in Lagos, the agency’s Zone Coordinator, South-West, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, said that a total of 17 bodies had been recovered so far from the recovery operations of the missing victims.
He said: “Late yesterday night, two more bodies were recovered in addition to the two earlier recovered in the morning.
“With this, it has become a total of 17 bodies recovered.”
Farinloye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview that search and rescue operations had ended.
The coordinator said that illegal boat operators plying the waterways beyond the stipulated official hours led to these avoidable deaths.
He said that the act was a gross violation of the regulations of the waterways guidelines for operators.
His words: “It was revealed that the regulatory bodies have tried to stamp out illegal operations of small boat operators who hardly use life jackets after official hours.
“But they do not heed to regulations put in place to stop them.
“It was also observed that wooden boats are not permitted to be used as a passenger boats.
“But it is only at this odd hour that illegal operators always put the lives of unsuspecting passengers at risk.’’
He said that efforts were on to address the gaps with all stakeholders such as the Nigerian Navy’s Special Boat Service, the Association of Boat/Ferry Operators of Nigeria and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), among others.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday ordered a probe into the July 8 Mile 2-Ibeshe boat accident in which lives were lost.
In a statement, by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, Sanwo-Olu said he was deeply saddened by the incident and commiserates with the families who lost their loved ones.
“The police are probing what went wrong and treating the sad incident as criminal. The boat, which is said to be unlicensed, obviously broke the waterways rules of “no night travel” and no overloading. Besides, not all of the passengers wore life jackets and the boat did not take off from a government-approved jetty.
“The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and others are assisting the investigators.
“Anybody who is found to have contributed in any way to this tragedy will surely face the law to ensure that we do not have any such incidents in future. The waterways rules and regulations are clear; they must be respected in accordance with the greatest value that the Sanwo-Olu administration places on human life.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. May The Almighty strengthen them in this difficult time.”
