At least 20 lives were lost Monday night after two passenger boats, each carrying 16 passengers, capsized after colliding around 7 pm at Imore Lagoon.
The boats, reportedly unregistered, sank, claiming the lives of 21 passengers. However, swift intervention by police, local divers, and emergency responders rescued 11 survivors, who were rushed to Naval Town Hospital in Ojo for medical attention.
This is not the first boat mishap in Nigeria. On Independence Day, a boat, carrying around 300 people returning from a funeral, capsized in Gbajibo River around Mokwa in Niger State.
In recent years, similar incidents have occurred, resulting in significant loss of life. In 2020, seven people died when a boat capsized in Lagos’ Badagry Creek. In 2018, 15 people lost their lives in a boat accident on the Niger River in Kogi State.