Twelve dead in a boat capsize in Lagos

Twelve people were reportedly dead when a commercial boat capsized in the waterfront community of Ilashe in Lagos on Sunday.

The government confirmed the accident and blamed it on overcrowding and illegal activities of boat operators.

Raising the initial death toll in a statement, the Lagos State Waterway Authority disclosed that three more bodies have been confirmed while four people are in the hospitals.

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The statement reads in part: “We sympathise with the families of the deceased as 12 lives were lost,”

“An unfortunate incident occurred at Ilashe today… arising from overloading of passengers on a banana boat taking off from an illegal jetty which has become a perennial issue of the Lagos state government to rid our waterfront areas of illegal operators.”

Although the number of passengers on the boat could not be ascertained immediately, the government however, said a rescue operation was underway.