By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
A newly admitted student of University of Ilorin and one other have reportedly died in a boat accident which occurred in Lagos, New Nigerian Newspapers has learnt.
As learnt, the deceased were among the six passengers whose boat capsized in Isawo community in Ikorodu area of the state on Thursday.
Their corpses were said to have been recovered by local divers and operatives of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service inside the lagoon barely 24 hours after the tragedy occurred.
The deceased undergraduate, Identified as Misturat Okunbanjo, 18 years old, was said to have just gainned admission some days ago into University of Ilorin, with tution fees as well as registration concluded and was expected to leave Lagos this weekend for Kwara State.
Our correspondent gathered that while Misturat and Azeezat Amoo, 16 years old perished in the mishap the four other passengers were rescued by the emergency rescue team.
According to a source, the deceased teenagers and others, board a makeshift wooden canoe used by Ijaws divers, but capsized at Ishawo community.
The source alleged that the state government rescue team arrived several minutes after the incident had occurred with the locals embarking on a search and rescue operations.
The Director of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, Margaret Adeseye, who confirmed the development, disclosed that the accident was reported at 20:16 hours on yesterday, prompting the deployment of the Search and Rescue Crew from the Agency.
Adeseye stated that the crew collaborated with locals who were familiar with the terrain and despite the darkness, the search continued until late at night when it was suspended.
According to her, four of the six victims on board the capsized boat crossing from Olorunsogo to Isawo were rescued.
“The crew resumed their efforts in the early hours of Friday to continue the search. Unfortunately, they recovered the bodies of two females, identified as Misturat Okunbanjo, 18, and Azeezat Amoo, 16. The recovery operation concluded at approximately 10:10 hours.
Adeseye expressed regret over the incident, emphasizing the importance of avoiding unsafe acts around waterways and highlighted ongoing efforts to educate and sensitize communities on measures to prevent such incident.
