The bodies of 2 passengers that boarded a wooden boat found.

The bodies of two passengers of a wooden boat that capsised, Wednesday night, in Igando area of Lagos, were recovered yesterday. They were identified as those of one Fatima, a female and Mr. Idowu Lawal. Fourteen others were reportedly rescued by local divers with the assistance of policemen attached to Igando Police Division. Tragedy, as gathered, occurred at 8p.m., Wednesday, shortly after the boat, said to be heading for Imoshe in Ogun State, took off from Akesan.

The exact number of passengers that boarded the boat was not ascertained. But Vanguard gathered that immediately it took off, it tagged along with another wooden boat carrying two passengers, in order to withstand the tide. But it apparently could not.
Some of the panic-stricken passengers were said to have jumped out of the boat before it capsized.

Those that could swim escaped to the shore, while others were said to have been rescued by local fishermen. It was also gathered that none of the passengers was wearing life jacket. When Vanguard arrived the scene yesterday, policemen from Igando Division were sighted combing the river for any victim. Police sources hinted that the case was never reported by the canoe operators.

Police sources said: “They deliberately refused to report the case to the Police because they wanted to hide the incident from us. As we speak, families of the deceased have not come to the station to report either.”