Lagos recovers bodies of 6 dead children from Ojo boat accident

The Lagos State Government yesterday said it had recovered the bodies of six children who drowned in Wednesday’s boat mishap in Ojo area of Lagos.
Speaking at a news conference in Ikeja, Lagos, the Managing Director, Lagos State Waterways Authority, LASWA, Yinka Marinho, said that three of the bodies were recovered on Wednesday while another three was recovered on Thursday .
Marinho said eight of the 14 children survived the tragedy while six died, adding that the accident was as a result of a motorised Boat crashing into a canoe carrying the children to school. The motorised boat had developed a mechanical fault midway in the water around Irewe, Ojo.
He explained that the operator of the boat was trying to fix the problem as his boat stopped in the water when it ran into the canoe.
He disclosed that the captain of the motorised boat had been arrested and detained at the Railway Police Station, lamenting that the passengers in the boat were not wearing live jacket despite the fact that the government had distributed 3,500 life jackets to boat operators.
He said the state had 53 water terminals where all registered boats must take off, adding that no boat operator dared to leave the terminal without its passengers wearing life jackets, adding that there were life guards stationed in these waterways to ensure that waterways policies were followed.
The LASWA boss said that many canoes plying the waterways, especially those from riverine communities, were not monitored by LASWA, a reason why many of them did not use life jackets.
He said government did not have enough manpower to monitor them, moreover, as the economic viability of such areas were lean, adding that since many people did not ply such areas, much attention is not always paid to them. He, however, noted that the government would now begin to monitor them.
Marinho further disclosed that in the next few weeks another set of 2,400 life jackets would be distributed to boat operators, while another set of 1,800 would be distributed for the use of school children in riverine areas.
He stated that in the next few days the authorities would comb the nooks and crannies of riverine areas of the state to take a census of school children to know the number of life jackets to be provided for them.
He added that the government would ensure that the use of life jackets were monitored with appropriate sanctions meted to violators.
General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, appealed to those using the waterways to always put on life jackets in order to reduce accident on our waterways
Director General, Lagos Safety Commission, Odebunmi Dominga, vowed that the government would enforce the law and ensure that people using the waterways always wear life jackets.