The agency said no passenger manifest was filled to confirm the authenticity of the number of passengers aboard the boat.

The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has said a rescue team is on water at Kirikiri in Lagos State, searching for two missing passengers of a boat that capsized on Monday night.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Lagos Area Manager of NIWA, Sarat Braimah, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

According to Ms Braimah, at approximately 6:45 p.m. on Monday, a fibre boat carrying 13 passengers, along with a deckhand, captain and cargo was travelling from Ebute Ero on the Lagos Island to Badagry when it collided with a wooden boat.

She said: "The wooden boat had just departed from Imore jetty, transporting passengers to Imore waterside.

"Upon investigation, it was found that the wooden boat had barely left the jetty when the fiber boat veered off its course.

"The collision was attributed to the fiber boat captain's obstructed vision likely caused by the boat's load."

Missing passengers

NAN reports that the area manager said of the 15 passengers believed to be aboard the wooden boat 13 were rescued, with five sustaining injuries and receiving treatment at a hospital.

The agency said no passenger manifest was filled to confirm the authenticity of the number of passengers aboard the boat.

"However, two passengers remain missing as of the time of this report," Ms Braimoh said.

Meanwhile, in a statement issued earlier, the General Manager of Lagos State Waterways Authority, Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said five passengers of the wooden boat had not been accounted for.

Mr Emmanuel said the wooden boat carried 10 passengers from Alakija to Imore while the fibre boat reportedly carried 15 passengers.

He said all the 15 passengers on fibre boat were rescued safely and were waiting at the jetty to collect their goods.

(NAN)