The death toll in Wednesday’s boat mishap on the Ebute Ero - Ikorodu waterways in Lagos rose to 12 yesterday. The victims include two expectant mothers and an intending couple, who were planning for their wedding slated for next weekend. Other victims are a teenage girl and five men.

Survivors of the boat accident have blamed it on overloading and high handedness of the boat operator, Bell Marine Services. The boat, which reportedly had over 25 people on board, was said to be over-loaded and over-speeding.

The Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), however, blamed the deaths on the passengers’ failure to use life jackets.

“The passengers failed to fasten their life jackets properly,” LASWA Managing Director, Mr. Olayinka Marinho, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said that those who were rescued alive by LASWA’s rescue team had been taken to the General Hospital in Ikorodu for medical attention.

Marinho said that LASWA would intensify enforcement of regulations on waterways to forestall similar incidents in future.

It would be recalled that over a dozen people died in a similar incident at the Festac Canal in Lagos last month.

•Photo shows rescue workers at last month's boat crash site.