A survivor of the Ikorodu Boat Mishap which occurred on Wednesday night, in Lagos, told Channels Television that overload and high speed caused the accident.
According to the female survivor, Abimbola Bunmi, the driver of the ill-fated Bell Marine boat was on high speed despite the turbulent waves on the waters.
Three pregnant women and a female child, who was yet unfound, were also involved in the accident which took off from the Ebutte Jetty in Lagos at 5:34PM. While narrating the incident, Bunmi hinted that the boat was damaged and that the driver had tried to “manage it” until the boat capsized.
Although representatives of the government had said that the Lagos Water Authority had responded promptly to the distress call, an eyewitness, Pedro Elakhale, a close relative to one of the occupants of the boat, told Channels Television that local fishermen and not the water authorities rescued the victims.
Despite the allegations of late rescue operations by survivors, the managing director of the Lagos state Waterways Authority, Mr Yinka Marinho insisted that the agency had responded to the distress call on time.
During an interview on Channels Television, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transport, Kayode Opeifa, had said that the accident may have been caused by underwater obstacles which led to the boat capsizing. He, however could not confirm if human error had led to the incident but disclosed that investigations were on.