Six children drown in Nigeria as boat to school capsizes
Updated | By Olivia Phalaetsile
Fourteen children were aboard the boat when it overturned on Wednesday.
"We could rescue eight of the passengers... Six that were missing have been found. Unfortunately, none survived," Yinka Marinho, head of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), told a news conference.
Marinho said the boat carrying the children collided with a speed boat that developed a technical fault while on the water.
The captain of the speed boat had been arrested, he added.
None of the children were wearing life jackets, which are compulsory on Lagos waterways.
Marinho said Lagos state government had handed out thousands of life jackets since 2012, "to forestall these incidences."
Many communities and residents on islands in Lagos and other parts of the country travel to work, school and markets daily by boat, in some cases to avoid monster traffic jams.
The National Emergency Management Agency recently warned users and operators of vessels on Lagos waterways to take extra precautions during the current rainy season.
Drownings occur frequently during the rainy season, when ocean levels rise and tidal waves are common.
ANA
Show's Stories
-
We want to have a baby, but how does fertility work?
Being healthy & fertile, and planning for a family, is not always a ...
The Workzone with Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp 9 minutes ago -
Relationship coaches advocate for proactive communication in marriage
This is revolutionary! Instead of communicating from a place of reaction...
The Workzone with Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp 40 minutes ago