The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Wednesday disclosed that the hope of rescuing the two passengers who fell off a bus into the Lagos lagoon following an accident on the Third Mainland Bridge has become very slim.
The South-West Coordinator of NEMA, Ibrahim Farinloye, made this known to journalists at the scene of the accident in Lagos.
The Matrix recalls that earlier on Wednesday the two persons fell into the Lagos lagoon following an accident involving a commercial vehicle around 11 a.m. on Wednesday when the brakes of the vehicle failed.
It was reported that a commercial bus with 22 passengers suffered brake failure at high speed. In the process, the driver ran himself into the barrier on the Third Mainland Bridge and two adults were plunged into the lagoon.
Wreckage of the vehicle was recovered and injured victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
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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.
Reacting to the search and rescue, Farinloye said personnel of the Marine Police were in search of the two adults, a male and female, who fell off the bus.
He said: “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 any of them surviving is slim.”
It would be recalled that the Federal Government reopened the third mainland bridge on the 4th of April after months of repair works, setting the speed limit at 80 km/hr and warning motorists to resist the temptation of over-speeding on the now very smooth expressway.
