A woman was yesterday confirmed dead yesterday after a passenger boat capsized off Lagos Island.
Her husband and 18 others in the boat were, however, rescued.
Our corresponent learnt that the vessel, property of Sealink Boat Services, left Ikorodu in the morning for Lagos Island but capsized at Ebute-Ero at about 10am.
It reportedly rammed into a submerged dredger and upturned, throwing the passengers into the water.
The boat conductor was arrested by the police after the driver fled the scene.
It was gathered that operatives of the Marine Police, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA), Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Lagos Waterways Authority moved to the scene to save the situation.
But, according to LASEMA General Manager Adesina Tiamiyu, the cause of the accident was not certain.
The RRS, Tiamiyu said, provided aerial support for responders in the water, adding that ambulances were used to evacuate the victims to a hospital on Lagos Island for observation.
He said: “The rescued passengers along with the conductor were taken to Marine Police Office in Keffi, Obalende, Lagos.
“The capsized boat has equally been recovered and taken to Marine Police yard while the corpse has been deposited in the mortuary.”
