Two passengers were reportedly flung into the lagoon and many others injured during an accident on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos State on Wednesday.
The accident involving an LT 18 seater with number plate FKJ 872 YA occurred by Adeniyi Adele inward Lagos Island.
The Lagos Territorial Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, said in a statement that the driver of the vehicle, who was on speed, swerved off the road and hit the bridge railings.
He also stated that the impact forcefully pushed the two passengers off the bus into the Lagos lagoon.
“The victims, an adult male and female, are being searched by the Marine Police. The injured have been evacuated to a nearby hospital,” he said.
Speaking with NAN correspondent who was at the scene, Farinloye said that personnel dispatched from the Agency, joined by two teams from the Nigerian Police Marine Corps had been assisting in the rescue operations.
“However, by now, we are not looking at the search and rescue again, but recovery.
“This is because the male passenger was said to have floated about three times before he was finally drowned, while the woman did not even surface at all. Therefore, the possibility of anyone of them surviving is slim, ” he said.
According to him, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) had, however, mobilised more local divers to join the team for the recovery operations.
Mr Jonathan Owoade, Zonal Coordinator, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), also corroborated the explanation by the NEMA official.
Owoade said that other victims in the bus had been rescued to a nearby general hospital for treatment.
“We are on our way to the hospital to see their state of being and also commiserate with them,” he said.
According to him, the accident seemed to have occurred as a result of speeding by the driver, given the impact.
The emergency response agencies were seen on ground at the scene of the accident, comprising marine police, LASEMA, FRSC, NEMA and the local divers.
The bus involved in the accident damaged part of the railings, and pieces of its shattered windshield littered the scene.
