Seventeen passengers on Saturday narrowly escaped death when a ferry passenger boat named GT Water Line 4 capsized in Lagos waters 20 minutes after takeoff from Ebute-Ero en route to the Ikorodu terminal.
However, the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), in a statement signed by its General Manager, Damilola Emmanuel, on Saturday night said all 17 passengers were rescued safely since they were all on life jackets.
According to the statement: “The boat was said to have left the Ebute-Ero at about 5.15 pm with 17 passengers on board. 14 of the passengers were male while three were female.
“LASWA patrol team and some other boat operators were swift to respond to the distress call from the boat, thereby rescuing all 17 passengers on board alive which included two minors.
“Apparently, all passengers were putting on their life jackets which were greatly responsible for the safe rescue of all onboard.
“The boat and its captain have been taken to custody for further investigation to unravel the cause of the accident and necessary actions.
“To forestall recurrence of such incident, LASWA has once again warned all boat operators to always adhere strictly to safety measures while advising all waterways users to ensure the use of life jackets at all time when boarding a boat.”
(BREAKING): 17 passengers escape death as boat capsizes in Lagos
