The last victim of the Saturday boat accident in the Badagry area of Lagos State, involving 10 passengers, has been found.
The corpse of the six-year-old was recovered on Tuesday after floating on the river.
Our correspondent had reported that a fibre boat took off from Ebute Iworo Jetty en route to Daddilowe in Badagry when the crash occurred around 11am on Saturday.
While eight people were rescued alive, two were declared missing.
On Sunday, the corpse of an eight-year-old girl, Funmilayo Balogun, was recovered, while the last victim was found on Tuesday.
The spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency, South-West zone, Ibrahim Farinloye, said the discovery brought an end to the rescue operation.
He said, “The last body was found by the villagers. The water had taken her a bit far from the scene of the crash. But the villagers were on the lookout. Her corpse floated on Tuesday and the body was subsequently handed over to her family. Both dead victims were girls.”
Farinloye warned boat passengers against embarking on any journey without wearing life jackets, adding that jetty operators must also protect people from risks.
He said, “People who use inland waterways for their transport should endeavour to have their personal life jackets. This way, they will be assured of the quality of their life jackets. If they are going anywhere and they are not with it and the boat operator also does not have any life jacket, they must resist the temptation to go.
“Jetty operators must ensure that a boat operator has life jackets for all his passengers.”
Farinloye added that sand miners should “assist the river to have free flow and not be the cause of tragedies.”