Ten passengers including MMS Plus reporter, were trapped onboard a ferry for over 45minutes at night along Kirikiri coastal waters, as the boat’s engine broke-down on Tuesday, last week.
The speedboat which was transiting from Liverpool jetty in Apapa to the Ojo jetty operated by SIFAX Group, collapsed at midstream while there was no rescue boat to intervene despite several calls by the Captain, simply known as ‘Oga Segun’ and the passengers.
Trouble started when the boat went off barely three minutes into the journey which started at 6:45pm, however, the passengers as well as the Captain perceived that dirt had obstructed the smooth operation of the engine and the Captain hurriedly went to inspect the engine went later re-started the boat’s engine after three attempts.
However, seven minutes later, deep into the waters the engine of the boat died and the Captain discovered that the petrol he had just purchased at the Liverpool jetty wasn’t mixed with engine oil as was the norm.
The incident led to a high level of pandemonium as time elapsed and no sign of rescue boat emerged despite various calls by the Captain and other passengers onboard the vessel.
The boat had collapsed at 7:04pm and three different boats heading to Ijegun, Satellite town and Kirikiri passed; while two other boats going to Liverpool jetty also passed without any promise to return even as some suspected the victims to be pirates.
While the passengers thought the worse may have happened, the rickety boat also had no paddle and the passengers on two rolls had to sacrifice their seats which were improvised for paddles to keep the faulty boat afloat.
After 30 minutes of confusion with no hope in sight, two passengers onboard almost started fighting over the possible solution to the quagmire as one beckoned desperately to neighbouring boats to rush to rescue the boat, alleging that all passengers would gladly pay N5000 each for the journey that should cost N600, while the other passenger maintained that all passengers must wait for the boat the Captain had called to rescue.
At about 7:51pm the boat had drifted to a nearby bush before a ‘good Samaritan’ emerged and offered to ferry the passengers to the nearest jetty in Kirikiri for a fee of N200 each.
The condition of the boats that ply the Apapa- Ojo route as well as other ferry routes in Lagos have become a major concern for the commuters especially as there is no efficient rescue team either by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) or Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA).
Since the commissioning of the Ebutte-Ojo jetty by SIFAX Group, there has been increased expectation that the new player would be able to attract modern boats for operations in the region, however, the rickety boats continue to hold sway despite the fact that SIFAX commissioned the jetty with state-of-the-art boats.
Meanwhile, in another boat incident in Lagos on Wednesday last week, five passengers died while five others were rescued when a 20-passenger boat which was moving from CMS to Ikorodu, capsized by the Ferry Terminal, Ipakodo, Ebute.
No rescue team reached the scene as only five survivors were rescued by passersby and divers from the boat which had ten passengers with four women and one man among the deceased. It was gathered that the bodies of the dead persons were brought to the jetty at Ipakodo located in outskirts of Lagos for onward movement to the nearest morgue.
Confirming the incident, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Adesina Tiamiyu, said the agency received the distress call late in the evening.
“The agency received the distress call and on arrival at the incident scene, it was observed that a 20 capacity passenger boat belonging to Blue Sea capsized mid-sea enroute Ikorodu from Lagos Island. Investigation carried out by the LRT revealed that the immediate cause of the boat mishap was unknown at time of report.
“Unfortunately five persons (four adult females and one adult male) were confirmed dead as a result of the incident and their bodies were deposited at the morgue at Ikorodu General Hospital. Meanwhile, five persons – four females and one male were rescued alive.
“The exercise was carried out by the combined efforts of LASEMA, Lagos State Waterways Agency (LASWA), and the Lagos State Ambulance Services (LASAMBUS). Figures of other rescued victims cannot be ascertained as they were brought to the jetty with various passing boat. Recovery efforts still on-going at time of this report,” Tiamiyu explained.
Only 10 persons- the dead and the rescued, were accounted for, as search for the other 10 persons is ongoing.
The attention of the relevant government regulatory agencies should be drawn to these high rate of boat mishaps especially as Lagosians are just beginning to have confidence in the waterways as an alternative mode of transport with the roads becoming impassable in certain areas like Apapa.
By Kenneth Jukpor
