At least 12 people perished Monday in Nigeria, in two separate shipwrecks, one in Lagos, the other in the northwest of the country, authorities announced Tuesday (September 1).
Two people have died and one is missing after a passenger vessel capsized in the lagoon of Lagos, Nigeria's economic capital, the Lagos State Waterways Authority (Laswa) said in a statement. communicated.
Read also: Nigeria: two dead in a helicopter crash in Lagos
The boat was on its way to the Ikorodu region for a funeral, when it sank due to strong currents, according to Laswa.
"
None of the seven passengers wore a life jacket
," said its general manager Oluwadamilola Emmanuel in this press release, "
four passengers were rescued unharmed, two died and one is missing
".
According to him, the boat was a fishing boat converted for the occasion to welcome passengers and take them to the place of the funeral.
Accidents and shipwrecks are frequent in Lagos, crossed by a network of lagoons and navigable waterways.
On August 1, ten of the 19 passengers on a transport boat were killed there in similar circumstances.
On Monday, another shipwreck claimed the lives of ten people, including women and children, on their way to a wedding, in the Nigerian state of Kebbi (northwest), an emergency service official said on Tuesday.
“
The boat capsized due to strong waves on the river, whose waters are swollen by heavy rains.
All ten passengers on the boat drowned.
Four bodies have been found and the search for the other six continues,
”Sani Dododo, head of the Kebbi State Emergency Management Agency, told AFP.
Overloading and poor maintenance of boats, non-compliance with safety regulations and bad weather are among the main causes of shipwrecks in Nigeria.
