By Seyi Babalola
No fewer than 11 more bodies were recovered on Sunday from the ill-fated boat that capsized enroute Ibeshe in Ojo Local Government area, from Mile 2, Lagos terminal, increasing the death toll to 15.
The bodies were recovered by the search and rescue officials, including National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), during the ongoing search and rescue operations in the waters.
Two more bodies were still reported missing from the passengers that boarded the boat in Mile 2 axis of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government.
The boat, a medium sized W-19 boat was said to have left Mile 2 on Friday night with 16 passengers. None of the passengers who included children, as well as the captain had their life jackets on as at the time of the accident raising fears that all might have perished in the water.
Confirming the new death toll on Sunday, NEMA Southwest Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the 11 additional bodies were recovered from the waters barely 24 hours after four bodies were found by the rescue officials.
Farinloye in a statement made available to newsmen, added that efforts were ongoing to ensure that none of the bodies under the water would be left unrecovered.
According to the statement, the recovery operation of the missing victims of ill-fated boat sailing from Mile 2 to Ibeshe, led to recovery of a total of 11 more bodies today.
“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 15 bodies recovered.
It has been found out that the operator had embarked on the trip after the official hours allowed, which is 7:00 pm, as permitted by the Inland Waterway operational rules.
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 efforts put in place to stop them.
“It was also observed that wood boats are not permitted to be used as passengers boat but its only at this odd hours that owners of such boats come out and they always put the lives of unsuspecting passengers at risk.
“Efforts are on to address the gaps with all stakeholders such as Nigerian Navy’s Special Boat Service , Association of Boat/Ferry Operators of Nigeria, Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), NEMA and Marine Police to address the situation”, the statement added.