LASWA rescues 24 boat mishap passengers

• Commends Passengers For Wearing Lifejackets
About 24 passengers were rescued last Friday evening when two boats collided and capsized in Ojo area of Lagos State. The accident, which occurred at about 7:45pm around the Ojo Terminal, involved two open fiber boats.

Managing Director, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Mr. Damilola Emmanuel, who confirmed the incident, said one of the boats had 22 passengers, while the other had the boat captain and deckhand on board.

He said immediately the incident occurred, the patrol team at the Ojo Terminal was able to move swiftly to the scene for rescue operation.

He said: “One boat was going from Liverpool to Ojo, while the other was doing a return trip from same location. LASWA response team was able to rescue all passengers from the capsized boat, transported them to shore, with no lives were lost.”

He said the affected boats, Toba Marine and Eco Lima are presently in the custody of LASWA, until conclusion of investigations into what led to the collision.

Emmanuel attributed the success of rescuing all passengers alive to the passenger’s adherence to putting on life jackets, which to him also made rescue efforts a lot easier.

According to him, 1500 life jackets were distributed within 2017 and January 2018, and more would be distributed before the year ends. He implored passengers to wear lifejackets before embarking on any journey on water.