Boat mishap: Lagos to intensify enforcement of guidelines

The Lagos State government said it would embark on an aggressive campaign and enforcement of guidelines for commercial boat operators to reduce incidents of boat mishaps in the state. Mrs Abisola Kamson, Managing Director of Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) gave this indication in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos.
Kamson said the new drive was in line with the commitment of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode to ensure that water transportation remained  the most efficient and cost effective mode of transportation. Kamson spoke on the backdrop of a boat mishap which occurred on Friday along Oke-Ira Nla, Ajah-Bayeku, Ikorodu axis of the state.
She said LASWA was notified of the incident involving a Bayeku Ferry Association commercial boat carrying 20 passengers and two crew members from Oke-Ira Nla, Ajah to Bayeku in Ikorodu.
She said upon receiving the notification, the authority’s water guards were immediately deployed to the scene of the incident to assist in rescue efforts. Kamson said all passengers on-board wore life jackets and that 17 of them were rescued alive while five who were earlier rushed to the nearest General Hospital, died afterwards.
The LASWA boss said preliminary investigation by the authority revealed that aside the mechanical fault that developed when the steering cable connected to the engine propeller cut, the captain of the boat might have been over-speeding.