Two yet-to-be-identified passengers are reported to have plunged into the Lagos lagoon following an accident involving a commercial vehicle on the newly reopened Third Mainland Bridge with a search operation currently ongoing.
The accident, which occurred around 11 am on Wednesday when the brake of the vehicle failed by Adeniji Adele inward Lagos Island, had other passengers sustaining varying degrees of injuries from the incident.
Emergency management officials said marine police are leading the search operation for two adults involved in the accident.
Other passengers have been taken to the General Hospital, Lagos Island.
According to reports, the Director of Operations, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Olatunde Akinsanya, who spoke to journalists after the incident, said,
“Today at 10 minutes after 11, we had a road accident very close to Adeniji Bypass.
“An LT commercial bus with 22 passengers had a break failure and it was on a high speed. In the process, he ran himself to the barrier on the Third Mainland Bridge and of course, two adults were plunged into the lagoon.
“So, the next phase of the operation is that haven recovered the wreckage and the victims are taken to the nearby hospital for treatment, the next action is the search rescue operations on the waterway and that is what we are collaborating with marine police, NEMA and others.”
Also speaking, the Lagos Territorial Coordinator, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, said in a statement that the driver of the vehicle, who was at 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.
He said, “The victims, an adult male and female, are being searched by the Marine Police. “The injured have been evacuated to a nearby hospital.’’
The crash which happened on the day Muslims are marking the Eid-El-Fitr and also a work-free day, saw other road users gather around the accident scene to render help to the victims.
Rescue officials, security agents as well as traffic management officers were also on the scene for rescue operations.
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) had warned motorists to maintain speed limits while driving on the long stretch of the newly renovated bridge
The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare Oki, said that it is scintillating and fascinating to drive on the bridge without any impediments, noting that it may be too tempting and risky not to observe the speed limit thereby resulting in untoward consequences for motorists.
Also, the Federal Government had set a speed limit of 80 km/hour for the Third Mainland Bridge following extensive repairs over five months.
The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, emphasized that speed limit signs have been strategically positioned along the bridge to alert motorists to the designated speed limit, adding that the Lagos State Government intends to install speed cameras to enforce compliance.
