Tragedy struck, yesterday, at Irawe area of Ojo, Lagos State, after a canoe conveying 14 schoolchildren capsized. Six children reportedly drowned, while eight others, including the driver, were rescued.
The incident occurred after a fibre canoe reportedly ran into the passenger boat at about 9 a.m.
The rescued children , some of whom were said to be primary school pupils and secondary school students, are receiving treatment at Igando General Hospital.
However, three of them said to have swam their way to safety, were discharged from the hospital at about 5p.m yesterday.
Officials of Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA) who were contacted, reportedly stormed the scene to commence rescue operation.
However, at 7p.m., the bodies of the six missing children, suspected to have drowned, were yet to be found.
LASEMA’s General Manager, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, confirmed the accident.
He lamented that the children were not putting on live jacket when the accident occurred, saying the rescue operation was carried out by the Local Emergency Committee, led by the Executive Secretary of Ojo Local Government Area.
He added that LASEMA officials and others were still combing the water to see if they could get the other children.
The South-West spokesperson for National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Ibrahim Farinloye, also confirmed the incident.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.